Tai Chi (太極拳), a traditional Chinese practice which involves slow and gentle movements, may help heart disease patients who decline traditional cardiac rehabilitation, a study has found. The study, conducted at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, involved eight women and 21 men, whose average age was 67.9 years.
Researchers found that for the 29 physically inactive heart disease patients, Tai Chi helped improve exercise behaviors with no observable adverse events except for minor muscular pain at the beginning of training. The exercise intervention also proved feasible, with patients attending about 66 percent of scheduled classes.
After a heart attack, more than 60 percent of patients decline participation in cardiac rehabilitation, often because they perceive physical exercise as unpleasant, painful or impossible given their current physical condition, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The results also showed that while Tai Chi did not raise aerobic fitness on standard tests after three months of either the programs, it did raise the weekly amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity after three and six months in the group participating in the longer program.
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Tai Chi possible heart rehab exercise
