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Yoga for the prevention of cardiovascular disease

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 17, pages 536–537 (2020)Cite this article

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Yoga has been associated with improvements in numerous cardiovascular risk factors and has the potential to address the unmet needs of current cardiovascular prevention strategies. Large and well-designed clinical trials are needed to assess the benefits of yoga across the spectrum of cardiovascular diseases and to provide the evidence required for its widespread implementation.

Yoga is popularly believed to denote a series of calisthenic exercises and physical postures that are practiced for physical fitness. However, this ancient Indian system also encompasses an array of philosophical precepts, mental attitudes and physical practices. Although practiced in many forms, yoga incorporates elements of physical poses, breathing exercises and meditation, as well as lifestyle habits such as moderation in diet and abstinence from smoking and alcohol1. This multi-dimensional aspect of yoga is well established even in Western countries and the health benefits of yoga have extended to the prevention of disease, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Structured yoga practice has the potential to address the physical, psychological and health needs of patients with CVD1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India

    Dorairaj Prabhakaran

  2. Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India

    Dorairaj Prabhakaran & Ambalam M. Chandrasekaran

  3. Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Dorairaj Prabhakaran

  4. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Dorairaj Prabhakaran

Authors
  1. Dorairaj Prabhakaran
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  2. Ambalam M. Chandrasekaran
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Correspondence to Dorairaj Prabhakaran.

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Prabhakaran, D., Chandrasekaran, A.M. Yoga for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol 17, 536–537 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-020-0412-x

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