Transcendental Meditation reduces congestive heart failure: a new study
by Global Good News staff writer

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28 February 2007

In the global News Conference today 28 February, Dr Robert Schneider, foremost preventative cardiologist, presented the latest scientific study on Transcendental Meditation and congestive heart failure, which has just been announced all over the world in a special press release by the University of Pennsylvania in the publication Ethnicity and Disease, an authoritative journal on the heart health of African Americans.

Hosting the press conference, Dr John Hagelin, Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of World Peace, pointed out that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and there have been many efforts in medical science to reduce and prevent hypertension, high blood pressure, which is the primary risk factor for heart disease.

Current medicines, which have many side effects, have helped reduce hypertension, but have not reduced the risk of heart attack, whereas Transcendental Meditation (TM) is most effective in reducing high blood pressure. Almost 300,000 Americans die of congestive heart failure each year, said Dr Hagelin.

Dr. Robert Schneider has published many scientific research papers on the effects of Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Ayur Veda, in many cases funded by the National Institutes of Health (NHI), and there has been global focus on his breakthrough research, said Dr Hagelin.

This latest research is an NHI funded study on the effective prevention of heart failure. This was the first of its kind, a randomized study published in Ethnicity and Disease, Winter Issue, 2007.

Researchers from the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania evaluated 23 African American men and women, average age 64, who were recently hospitalized with New York Heart Association Class Two or Class Three congestive heart failure. The participants were randomized either to Transcendental Meditation or health education in addition to their usual medical care.

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 analysed.

The results showed that the TM group significantly improved on the six minute walk tests after both the three month and the six month of TM practice, compared to the control group. The TM group also showed improvements in quality of life measures, depression, and they had fewer re-hospitilizations.

According to the American Heart Association, congestive heart failure accounts for 2.5 million hospital admissions per year in the United States. Nearly half a million new patients are diagnosed with congestive heart failure every year, and 300,000 patients die each year. African Americans have twice the mortality rates from congestive heart failure.

According to the authors of this published research article, 'Transcendental Meditation improves heart functioning likely by reducing sympathetic nervous system activation associated with stress, which is known to contribute to the failing heart.

'This present finding is consistent with previous research,' the article says, 'demonstrating that the Transcendental Meditation Programme reduces factors that contribute to the cause or progression of heart failure: high blood pressure, stress, metabolic syndrome, enlargement of the heart, and severity of hardening of the arteries.' Dr. Robert Schneider was responsible for much of this research, Dr Hagelin added.

'The results indicate that TM can be effective in improving the functional capacity and quality of life of congestive heart failure patients. These results also suggest long-term improvements and the survival of these patients,' the author said.

Further validation of the outcome is planned via large multi-centred trials with long-term follow-up. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Center of Complimentary Medicine in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, and the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management.

Copyright © 2007 Global Good News(sm) Service



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