Transcendental meditation may prevent LVH and CVD in high-risk patients

Transcendental meditation (TM) may prevent LVH and associated CVD risk in high-risk African American patients.

USA: Stress reduction achieved by transcendental meditation (TM) technique may help in preventing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) compared to health education controls, a recent study in the journal Ethnicity & Disease has found. Left ventricular hypertrophy also known as abnormal enlargement of the heart, prevalent among African Americans, can lead to chronic heart failure and death.

African Americans have dis­proportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and are the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. LVH is an important risk factor for CVD. It doubles the risk of heart attacks, arrhythmias, stroke, heart failure, and death from CVD. Psycho­logical stress contributes to LVH in African Americans and other populations.

A recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association emphasized the potential for stress-reduction methods to prevent heart disease and premature mortality in African Americans.

Robert Schneider, dean of MIU's College of Integrative Medicine, and colleagues evaluated the effects of stress reduction with the transcendental meditation technique on prevent­ing LVH in African American adults with hypertension.

The trial included 85 African American adults (average 52.8 years). They were randomly assigned to either TM program or HE control group and completed post-testing. They were tested at baseline and after 6 months for left ventricular mass index (LVMI) by M-mode echocardiog­raphy, blood pressure, psychosocial stress, and behavioural factors. Change in outcomes was analyzed between groups by ANCOVA and within groups by paired t-test.

Key findings of the study include:

• The TM group had significantly lower LVMI compared with the HE group (-7.55gm/m2, 95% CI -14.78 to -.34 gm/m2).


• Both interventions showed sig­nificant within-group reductions in BP, (SBP/ DBP changes for TM: -5/ -3 mm Hg, and for HE: -7/-6 mm Hg) although between-group changes were not significant. In addition, both groups showed significant reductions in anger.


• There were no other changes in lifestyle factors.

The findings of this study suggest that TM practice is an effective non drug method for preventing heart enlargement in African American hypertensives who are especially at high risk of developing associated CVD.

"This is a form of heart disease where non drug treatments are relatively understudied," said Professor Schneider. "Since the physiology of stress contributes to cardiac enlargement, we hypothesized that managing one's mind-body connection with Transcendental Meditation might prevent the disease process."

Dr. Schneider, said these reductions are significant. "These results suggest that an effective technique for stress reduction may prevent the progression of left ventricular hypertrophy and thereby help to prevent premature heart disease and cardiac mortality."

"These findings indicate that stress reduction with TM was effective in preventing LVMI progression and thus may prevent LVH and associated CVD in high-risk African American patients," concluded the authors.

The study, "Stress Reduction in the Prevention of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation and Health Education in Hypertensive African Americans," is published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease.

DOI: 10.18865/ ed.29.4.577