Effect of yoga therapy on cardiovascular parameters in patients with psoriasis: A randomized control trial — pilot study

Abstract

This study was done at the Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) to determine cardiovascular (CV) parameters in patients with psoriasis.Data of 20 patients (12 female, 8 male) with a mean age of 44.40 ± 15.2ywho were referred by Dept. of Dermatology and attended yoga therapy sessions at CYTER was used for analysis. Supervised yoga training was given to the participants who were randomized into the yoga group. Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic pressure (SP and DP) was recorded using non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) apparatus before and after the study period of 12 weeks. CV indices such as Pulse pressure (PP), mean pressure (MP), rate-pressure product (RPP), and double product (DoP) were derived using appropriate formulae.The inter-group comparison showed significant change (p<0.05) in SP. The derived CV indices such as PP, RPP & DoP also showed significant changes. (p<0.05) after 12 weeks of Yoga training. The intragroup comparison in the control group showed a significant increase in SP and DP (p<0.05). There is a healthy reduction in SP and derived CV indices following 12 weeks of yoga training. The magnitude of this reduction depends on the pre-existing medical condition and intensity of the disease in each individual. These changes may be attributed to enhanced harmony of cardiac autonomic function as a result of coordinated breath-body work and mind-body relaxation due to yoga resulting in a significant reduction in the perceived stress.