29th June 2011
People with heart problems may find that meditation can reduce their risk of life-threatening events.
Researchers from the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa found that 20-minute meditation sessions can have as great an effect as some medications.
The study, which was detailed in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, involved 201 participants who were placed into two groups, one which received transcendental meditation and the other which received more traditional treatment.
It found that the overall risk of death, non-fatal heart attack or stroke was reduced by 47 per cent among those who meditated daily.
Commenting, Dr Robert Schneider said: "The effect is large, or larger, than major categories of drug treatment for cardiovascular disease."
However, he added that patients were also taking standard medications and the effect from the meditation was on top of the benefits that medication brought.
Transcendental meditation involves sitting comfortably with your eyes closed for around 20 minutes each day.
Posted by Jeanette Royston
1. Medical College of Wisconsin. "Transcendental Meditation helped heart disease patients lower cardiac disease risks by 50 percent."ScienceDaily, 17 November 2009. Web. 29 June 2011
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