Effects of yoga on inflammation and exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure.

[Celebration]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18514933?ordinalpos=9&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Despite recent advances in pharmacologic and device therapy, morbidity and mortality from heart failure (HF) remain high. Yoga combines physical and breathing exercises that may benefit patients with HF. We hypothesized that an 8-week regimen of yoga in addition to standard medical therapy would improve exercise capacity, inflammatory markers, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: New York Heart Association Class I-III HF patients were randomized to yoga treatment (YT) or standard medical therapy (MT). Measurements included a graded exercise test (GXT) to V O(2Peak) and the following serum biomarkers: interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD). The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was administered to assess changes in QoL. A total of 19 patients were enrolled after the initial screening. Of the 19 patients, 9 were randomized to YT and 10 to MT. Patients had a mean EF of 25%. GXT time and V O(2Peak) were significantly improved in the YT versus MT groups (+18% in the YT and -7.5% in MT; P = .03 vs. control and +17 in YT and -7.1 in MT; P = .02, respectively). There were statistically significant reductions in serum levels of IL-6 and hsCRP and an increase in EC-SOD in the YT group (all P < .005 vs. MT). MLHFQ scores improved by 25.7% in the YT group and by 2.9% in the MT group. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga improved exercise tolerance and positively affected levels of inflammatory markers in patients with HF, and there was also a trend toward improvements in QoL.

Note: a P value of less than .005 is a huge number for such a small study. I would love to know the actual crp improvement in the yoga group.

[TZ]

1. Thats too small a study to make ANY judgements.

Its also a known fact that stress and heart conditions have a strong link, so anything that relaxes a person will have some effect-- also please note that the Yoga was done in addition to the standard therapies..

[Celebration]

2. the P value takes study size into account, of course

There had to have been a really huge difference in crp values to reach that level of statistical significance.

Naturally, larger studies are in order for repeatability.

This summary really doesn't state what types of therapy constituted the different groups.

[varkam]

3. But statistical significance and statistical power are two different concepts.

Achieving statistical significance with a small number of participants is not terribly difficult, but small studies like this serve a purpose in that they are pilot studies: they identify areas of research that should be followed up on.

[conscious evolution]

4. Should this be followed up on then? nt