Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Introduction: Given the well-documented benefits of yoga on the cardiovascular system and improvement of exercise tolerance and quality of life, the American Heart Association recently recommended yoga as a safe and well-tolerated adjunctive therapy for patients with heart failure (HF). However, most studies have focused on testing yoga with moderate levels of physical movement, leaving a gap in our understanding of the potential benefits of yoga with low levels of physical movement.
The specific aims of this pilot study were to explore the potential benefits of yoga with low levels of physical exercise movement, combined with longer deep breathing and meditation, on the psychological and physical health outcomes of patients with HF.
Methods: Yoga was delivered using tele-health to patients with HF at home. Outpatients with HF (N=17) were randomly assigned to either the intervention (n=11) or the control (n=6) groups using a 2:1 ratio. The intervention group participated in twice-weekly live-streamed yoga sessions over a 12-week period led by nurse yoga instructors. Outcome measures included depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety Index), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), perceived control (Control Attitude Scale-Revised), sit-stand test, and length of activity measured with an ActiGraph watch worn for 7 days. Paired t-tests were conducted to examine the differences in outcomes over time.
Results: For the intervention group, there was a significant improvement in global sleep quality (8.8 vs. 6.0, p= 0.4 respectively), with a significant increase in sleep duration (3.0 vs 0.6, P <.001). The sit-stand score also improved significantly (9.4 vs. 11.4, p =.048). Sedentary time, as measured by ActiGraph watch, decreased significantly by 10.06 hours over 7 days (5463 vs 4859 minutes, p= 0.17), and moderate activity time increased by 2.5 hours per week, though this was not statistically significant (P=0.126). Depressive symptoms (p= 0.073) and anxiety (p=0.065) decreased, and perceived control (p =.095) improved, but those were not statistically significant. The control group showed no changes in any measures.
Conclusion: Yoga with a low level of physical movement demonstrated benefits for enhancing sleep quality and altering sedentary lifestyles in patients with HF, with several other potential advantages. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.