This is an exclusive excerpt from my book, The Physiology of Yoga.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States (Heron 2019), with coronary artery disease being the most common type of CVD in the United States. It is sometimes called coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease. Coronary artery disease is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the coronary arteries. This plaque is made up of cholesterol deposits, and buildup of these deposits causes the lumen of the arteries to narrow over time, partially or totally blocking the blood flow in a process called atherosclerosis. The plaque can become unstable and rupture, often leading to additional clot formation.
Hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking are all risk factors that can lead to CVD and stroke. In 2009 to 2010, approximately 46.5 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over had at least one of these three risk factors (Fryar, Chen, and Li 2012). Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use. Chronic stress exposure has also been found to have a strong link to CVD (Rosengren et al. 2004) and to CVD risk factors (Bhavanani 2016).
A systematic review and meta-analysis by Cramer and colleagues (2014) revealed evidence for clinically important effects of yoga on most biological CVD risk factors. The authors included 44 randomized controlled trials with a total of 3,168 participants in the analysis. Despite methodological drawbacks of the included studies, the authors state that yoga can be considered a supporting intervention for the general population and for patients with increased risk of CVD. Interestingly, they reported that exactly 12 weeks of intervention duration seems to be more effective than shorter or longer interventions.
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References:
Bhavanani, A. 2016. “Yoga and Cardiovascular Health: Exploring Possible Benefits and Postulated Mechanisms.” SM Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases 1 (1): 1003.
Cramer, H., R. Lauche, H. Haller, N. Steckhan, A. Michalsen, and G. Dobos. 2014. “Effects of Yoga on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” International Journal of Cardiology 173 (2): 170-183.
Fryar, C., T-C. Chen, and X. Li. 2012. Prevalence of Uncontrolled Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: United States, 1999-2010. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db103.pdf.
Heron, M. 2019. “Deaths: Leading Causes for 2017.” National Vital Statistics Reports 68 (6): 1-77.
Rosengren, A., S. Hawken, S. Ounpuu, K. Sliwa, M. Zubaid, W. Almahmeed, K. Blackett, C. Sitthiamorn, H. Sato, and S. Yusuf. 2004. “Association of Psychosocial Risk Factors With Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in 11119 Cases and 13648 Controls From 52 Countries (the INTERHEART Study): Case-Control Study.” Lancet 364:953-962.