Meditation linked to ‘real, lasting benefits’ for high-risk heart patients
Transcendental meditation (TM), a popular form of meditation, could help high-risk patients improve their cardiovascular health, according to new research published in Frontiers in Medicine.[1]
“TM is a meditation technique derived from the yoga tradition that has been adapted for contemporary practice,” wrote first author Keith C. Norris, MD, PhD, a physician with the department of general internal medicine and health services research at UCLA, and colleagues. “Since its adaptation, over 10 million people worldwide and 3 million in the United States have learned this technique through standardized courses. TM is described as a simple, natural technique practiced for 20 minutes twice a day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. It is reported that the ordinary thinking process settles down, leading to a distinctive wakeful hypometabolic state characterized by neural coherence and physiological rest.”
Because racial and ethnic minorities are associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), the study’s authors chose to focus on Black adults for this randomized controlled trial. Nearly 200 Black adults either completed a stress reduction program focused on TM or received health education (HE) based on clinical guidelines. Participants were excluded if they had experienced a myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary artery bypass graft procedure or percutaneous coronary intervention within the last three months. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and adverse CVD events were tracked for up to 14 years.
The study’s primary outcome, CIMT change over 12 months, was evaluated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Both groups experienced a “modest regression” of CIMT compared to historical controls, but there was not a significant difference between the TM group and HE group. On the other hand, participants from the TM group were linked to a 65% relative risk reduction when it came to major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) after five years compared to the HE group. This lower MACE risk was still present after 10 years of follow-up, but it lost significance after 14 years.
“There is a limitation in generalizing the present findings to other ethnic populations,” the authors warned. “The current sample comprised Black women and men, who, as a group, receive suboptimal treatment across most, if not all, health and health-related domains due to historical and ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, which have contributed to their placement in a low U.S. ethnic caste status. This could lead to a differential response compared to other socially defined ethnic groups. However, other studies on TM in diverse populations, particularly white women and men, have shown improvement in CIMT and other CVD surrogate and clinical endpoints that are consistent with the present findings.”
‘One of the largest and longest studies of its kind’
Senior author Robert Schneider, MD, a professor with Maharishi International University (MIU) and the Institute for Prevention Research, commented on his team’s findings in a statement on the MIU website.
“This is one of the largest and longest studies of its kind,” Schneider said. “Our findings replicate and extend earlier NIH-funded research showing that reducing stress through meditation has real, lasting benefits for heart health.”
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.