Tai Chi goed voor hartpatiënten*
Uit een studie onder 100 patiënten met hartfalen blijkt dat het regelmatig beoefen van Tai chi de kwaliteit van leven aanzienlijk verbetert. De helft van de deelnemers nam deel aan een 12 weken durend Tai Chi programma. De andere groep patiënten kreeg voorlichting. Na afloop van het onderzoek was er bij de Tai Chi-groep sprake van verbetering van de kwaliteit van leven. Dit uitte zich onder andere in een toegenomen zelfvertrouwen, meer bewegen en zich gezonder voelen. Beweging vormt voor patiënten met hartfalen vaak een struikelpunt. Lang is gedacht dat deze patiënten elke vorm van beweging moesten vermijden. Doch Tai Chi is een veilige manier van bewegen voor patiënten met hartfalen, volgens de onderzoekers. Het bewegen gaat geleidelijk, er wordt gewerkt aan het evenwicht en ook ademhalingstechnieken worden toegepast. Eerdere
diverse onderzoeken (klik hier) laten zien dat Tai chi ook positieve effecten heeft voor mensen met een hoge bloeddruk, evenwichtsproblemen of bewegingsproblemen. Tai Chi lijkt spanning en stress te verminderen, kracht te vergroten en de stemming te verbeteren.
Tai Chi Appears to Benefit Quality of Life for Patients With Chronic Heart Failure, Study Finds
New research shows that tai chi exercise appears to be associated with improved quality of life, mood and exercise self-efficacy in patients with chronic heart failure.
Tai chi exercise appears to be associated with improved quality of life, mood and exercise self-efficacy in patients with chronic heart failure, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Historically, patients with chronic systolic heart failure were considered too frail to exercise and, through the late 1980s, avoidance of physical activity was a standard recommendation," the authors write as background information in the study. "Preliminary evidence suggests that meditative exercise may have benefits for patients with chronic systolic heart failure; this has not been rigorously tested in a large clinical sample."
Gloria Y. Yeh, M.D., M.P.H., of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues evaluated 100 outpatients with systolic heart failure who were recruited between May 1, 2005 and September 30, 2008. Fifty patients were randomized to a 12-week tai chi-based exercise intervention group, and 50 were randomized to a time-matched education
group.
The tai chi intervention group consisted of one-hour group classes held twice weekly for 12 weeks. The education sessions were also held twice weekly for the same duration as the tai chi lessons, and were led by a nurse practitioner. The two groups were generally similar in demographics, clinical classification of heart disease severity, and rates of
comorbidities.
At completion of the study, there were no significant differences in change in six-minute walk distance and peak oxygen uptake when comparing the tai chi and control groups; however, patients in the tai chi group had greater improvements in quality of life. The tai chi group also showed improvements in exercise self-efficacy (confidence to perform certain exercise-related activities), with increased daily activity, and related feelings of well-being compared with the education
group.
"In conclusion, tai chi exercise, a multi-component mind-body training modality that is safe and has good rates of adherence, may provide value in improving daily exercise, quality of life, self-efficacy and mood in frail, deconditioned patients with systolic heart failure," the authors write. "A more restricted focus on traditional measured exercise capacity may underestimate the potential benefits of integrated interventions such as tai
chi." (Mei 2011)
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