Take heart with tai chi
Patients who survive a heart attack or stroke usually respond in one of two ways: They either (1) Thank God for the “second chance” and finally begin to make healthy choices or (2) Thank God for that “second chance” and then soon return to the same old habits that caused the heart problem in the first place.
I understand that old habits are hard to break, but new habits can be easy to form—such as practicing tai chi. This isn’t the first time I’ve taken the opportunity in House Calls (some may say my soapbox!) to extol the virtues of this ancient, slow and rhythmic practice. And more and more studies are being done on the wide-ranging health benefits for its practitioners.
Harvard Medical School teamed with the New England School of Acupuncture to test these purported benefits, focusing on folks with stable heart failure. This means that there has been no apparent, clinical worsening, such as increased fatigue with exertion and increased swelling in the feet and legs due to fluid backup from a faulty pump failing to move blood forward through the vessels. Thirty men and women were divided into two groups. Both were given standard care for heart failure, but just one group took an hour-long class, twice a week, to learn tai chi.
The results were most positive: After just three months of practice, people in the tai chi group were able to walk further without becoming breathless and felt healthier in general as compared with those in the other group. Their levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) lowered, also. BNP actually corresponds to the stiffness of your heart-muscle tissue. Healthy tissue is flexible and able to contract fully. Normally, those with heart failure have higher levels—which leads to the heart’s struggling to get an adequate supply of blood.
The researchers believe that tai chi, which involves bending at the knees and moving gently between stances, may have strengthened the leg muscles. This would explain why patients felt they had increased mobility after a few months of practice.
Also, the slow, deep rhythmic breathing that is a part of the practice may have increased their blood-oxygen levels, leading to better breathing.
The most common concern that my patients voice is that they’ve never had a regular exercise program in place and now feel it’s too late to start one. It’s not, but it’s something you should work with your doctor to implement. The point is to start slowly.
Tai chi will not overly exert you—but obviously will provide measurable health benefits.
