These Heart-Health Exercises are Twice as Effective as Drugs

Heart attacks and strokes are caused by blocked blood flow in the heart and up to the brain.

To prevent this and improve cardiovascular health, doctors recommend changes in diet, exercise and then, of course, drugs (lots of drugs).

However, there is a different, more natural method of treating heart disease—one so easy and effortless, it’s almost like doing nothing.

A new study from Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, published in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology has proven that this easy method is TWICE as effective as drugs.

Relaxation has been found to be an effective way of improving blood flow, so researchers decided to test whether transcendental meditation could be a useful addition to coronary heart disease treatment.

They recruited 56 people with coronary heart disease, including those who had recently had a heart attack, had coronary artery bypass surgery, or had suffered from chest pain.

They divided them into four groups:

– The first group received treatment with exercise and healthy eating,

– the second group received transcendental meditation training,

– the third group received meditation training with exercise and diet,

– and the fourth group received conventional drug treatment.

The blood flow to and from the hearts of the people in the transcendental meditation/cardiac rehabilitation group improved by 20.7 percent, and that of people in the transcendental meditation group improved by 12.8 percent.

Exercise and diet treatment increased blood flow to and from the heart by 5.8 percent, and drugs increased it by 10.3 percent.

Why is this relaxation technique so effective?

Psychosocial stress worsens coronary disease. Reducing stress reduces the levels of a hormone that cause blood vessel inflammation. This is why transcendental meditation helps in the fight against cholesterol.

For years, we’ve been using specific mindfulness and relaxation exercises—somewhat similar to TM—to treat blood pressure. You can learn these simple blood pressure exercises here…

Transcendental meditation alone is not enough to lower your cholesterol. Follow this step-by-step strategy to bring your cholesterol down to a healthy level without drugs in 28 days or less…