In a first-of-its-kind, study presented at Heart Failure 2024, a scientific symposium of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), researchers claimed that yoga can assist people with heart failure by building stronger hearts and enhancing their activity levels, underscoring the possible benefits of yoga as a supplemental therapy for heart failure patients..

According to Dr Ajit Singh of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, who led the study, "Patients who practised yoga on top of taking their medications felt better, were able to do more, and had stronger hearts than those who only took drugs for their heart failure."

According to available estimates, over 64 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, having a significant impact on quality of life, leaving people with a feeling of fatigue and breathlessness and reducing their capacity to participate in daily activities. While prior research has demonstrated the short-term advantages of yoga in heart failure patients, this current study focuses on its long-term impacts.

The study included 85 heart failure patients from Kasturba Hospital in Manipal, India, ranging in age from 30 to 70. Throughout the trial, participants took heart failure drugs as suggested by the guidelines. Forty patients performed yoga, while 45 served as the control group.

During the study, experienced yoga instructors taught the yoga group pranayama (yogic breathing techniques), meditation, and relaxation techniques, which they subsequently practiced at home for 50 minutes once a week. Regular check-ins with instructors ensured optimal progression.

For assessing of heart shape and function, blood pressure, heart rate, body weight, BMI, and symptom burden were performed at baseline, six months, and a year; while researchers, used New York Heart Association's classification system to assess patients' ability to do routine chores.

The results showed that the yoga group outperformed the control group in all parameters after six months and a year.

According to Dr Singh, "Patients who did yoga had healthier hearts and were more able to carry out ordinary activities such as walking and climbing stairs than those who only took medications." However, he recommends people to contact with their doctors before beginning yoga and to seek training from competent instructors. Medications should be taken as prescribed