Slow Yogic Breathing and Long-Term Cardiac Autonomic Adaptations: A Pilot Study.
Author: Bertisch SM1,2, Hamner J2, Taylor JA2,3
Affiliation:
11 Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
22 Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, Spaulding Hospital Cambridge , Cambridge, MA.
33 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA.
Conference/Journal: J Altern Complement Med.
Date published: 2017 Apr 18
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1089/acm.2016.0074. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 152
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether long-term practice of yogic breathing alters cardiac autonomic control.
DESIGN: Age-sex matched, cross-sectional, physiologic pilot study.
SETTINGS/LOCATION: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Cardiovascular Laboratory, Cambridge, MA.
PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six (26) long-term yoga practitioners and 26 age- and sex-matched controls, free of cardiovascular disease.
OUTCOME: Cardiac vagal outflow as assessed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA).
RESULTS: During unpaced (spontaneous) breathing, yoga practitioners exhibited augmented RSA compared to controls (yoga 364.8 ± 75.3 vs. 194.7 ± 46.0 ms2Hz-1, p = 0.03). However, during paced breathing at 0.25 Hz (15 breaths/min), which accounts for inter- and intravariability in breath rate, RSA did not differ between groups (yoga 224.8 ± 48.4 vs. 271.3 ± 59.7 ms2Hz-1, p = 0.98). Furthermore, the relationship between age and RSA, such that RSA declines with age, did not qualitatively differ between groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Long-term practice of yogic slow breathing does not appear to augment cardiac vagal control nor prevent known age-related declines.
KEYWORDS: autonomic; heart rate variability; respiratory sinus arrhythmia; vagal; yoga
PMID: 28418684 DOI: 10.1089/acm.2016.0074
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