Heart failure patients may benefit from the Ancient Chinese practice of Tai chi, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard University.
The research team, lead by Dr. Gloria Yeh of the general medicine and primary care division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, divided a group of 100 heart failure patients into two groups. Based on random assignment, one group was ordered to take a 12 week Tai chi program and the other group was ordered to take educational classes about heart failure.
Their findings show that while both groups had similar levels of oxygen use during six minute walks, the participants in the group that practiced Tai chi exhibited a higher overall improvement in their quality of life, as measured by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire.
“Tai chi training improved important parameters of quality of life, mood and confidence to perform exercise in patients with heart failure," Dr. Gloria Yeh, lead researcher and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told HealthDay News. "Maintaining an exercise regimen is important in heart failure, and Tai chi may be a suitable alternative or adjunct exercise for these patients.”
The researchers also found that the group who practiced Tai chi burned more calories each week and demonstrated improvements in their mood.
The study was published in the April 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine journal.
