Yoga could help patients suffering from abnormal heart rhythm manage their symptoms while also improving their state of mind, a new study says.
The researchers examined the effects of yoga on patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) in which faulty electrical signals and rapid heart rate begin suddenly and then stop on their own.
"Many patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) can't live their lives as they want to -- they refuse dinners with friends, concerts and travelling - because they are afraid of an AF episode occurring," said one of the researchers Maria Wahlstrom from Sophiahemmet University in Sweden.
"AF episodes are accompanied by chest pain, dyspnoea and dizziness," added Wahlstrom in the study published in the European journal of cardiovascular nursing.
These symptoms are unpleasant and patients feel anxious, worried and stressed that an AF episode would occur.
AF is the most common cardiac rhythm disorder and has no cure, the researches pointed out.
For their study, the researchers randomly assigned 80 patients with paroxysmal AF to attend yoga sessions or to a control group that did not do yoga. Both groups received standard treatment with medication, cardioversion and catheter ablation as needed.
After 12 weeks, the yoga group had higher "SF-36" mental health scores, lower heart rate and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure than the control group.