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Arrhythmias

Benefits of yoga in patients with atrial fibrillation

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 10, page 182 (2013)Cite this article

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The study involved a 3-month control period followed by a 3-month period, in which patients participated in an Iyengar yoga class at least twice weekly and were encouraged to practice postures at home on a daily basis. Three of the 52 enrolled patients withdrew from the study during the yoga intervention period. Of the patients who completed the trial, 47% were male. At baseline, mean age and BMI were 61 years and 28, respectively, and mean duration of AF was 64 months.

Yoga was associated with reductions in the mean number of symptomatic AF episodes (2.1 vs 3.8 in the control period), symptomatic non-AF episodes (1.4 vs 2.9), and nonsymptomatic AF episodes (0.04 vs 0.12) over 3 months (P <0.001 for all). Almost one-quarter (11) of patients with AF during the control period experienced no AF episodes during the yoga training.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Lakkireddy, D. et al. Effect of yoga on arrhythmia burden, anxiety, depression, and quality of life in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: the YOGA My Heart study. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2012.11.060

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Authors
  1. Bryony M. Mearns
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Mearns, B. Benefits of yoga in patients with atrial fibrillation. Nat Rev Cardiol 10, 182 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.21

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