Penn Study Shows Transcendental Meditation Reduces Congestive Heart Failure

Results of NIH-Funded Study Published in the Journal Ethnicity & Disease

(PHILADELPHIA) – Congestive heart failure causes the death of nearly 300,000 Americans, and accounts for more than 2.5 million hospital admissions per year in the U.S. According to a first-of-is-kind randomized study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging, a widely practiced, stress-reducing meditation technique can significantly reduce the severity of congestive heart failure. The study appears in the Winder 2007 issue of Ethnicity & Disease.
“The results of this study indicate that transcendental meditation can be effective in improving the functional capacity and quality of life of congestive heart failure patients” said Ravishankar Jayadevappa, PhD, lead author and Research Assistant Professor in Penn’s Division of Geriatric Medicine. “These results also suggest long-term improvements in survival in these individuals.”
Jayadevappa and fellow researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute on Aging evaluated 23 African American men and women, average age 64, who were recently hospitalized with New York Heart Association class II or III congestive heart failure. Participants were randomized to either the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique or health education – in addition to standard medical treatment.
Researchers measured changes in heart function with a six-minute walk test, and measures for quality of life, depression, and re-hospitalizations. Changes in outcomes from baseline to three and six months after treatment were analyzed.