Allison Keiser 

“About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year – that’s 1 in every 4 deaths, and heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women” (Heart Disease Facts). When thinking of ways to treat heart disease, most people probably think of exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, or taking medication, but what if meditation could be added to this list, in order to have the number of deaths from heart disease decrease? There have been multiple studies that prove meditation can help people with treatment of their heart condition, and the staff at Mayo Clinic iterates, “Meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as…heart disease.” About 92 million people in the United States are plagued with some type of heart disease, and this causes approximately 1 in every 4 deaths; however, meditation can help people control and treat their heart disease, thus reducing the number of deaths from it. 

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With heart disease being the leading killer in the United States, it is vital to try anything that might assist in reducing the number of people who die from it. Dr. John Denninger, director of research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, which is affiliated with Harvard, comments, “Not only can meditation improve how your heart functions, but a regular practice can…motivate you to maintain many heart-healthy behaviors.” Research in his department “has found that meditation can positively affect a measure of heart health known as heart rate variability…and a 2013 study found that people who did five minutes of meditation daily for 10 days had a better HRV compared to those who didn’t meditate.” People with heart disease would tend to have a lower heart rate variability, as a higher heart rate variability signifies a healthier heart. However, if people with heart disease practice meditation, they may be able to raise their heart rate variability and overall heart health (Denninger). This trend is proven in Figure 1 below, where it is shown that performing meditation has a higher maximum heart rate variability, as its maximum heart rate variability is 30, compared to the maximum for browsing the web which is only 21. In agreeance with Dr. Denninger, Jill Suttie, contributor to Greater Good Magazine at UC Berkeley, mentioned, “Whatever decreases the risks or symptoms of heart disease would significantly impact society’s health. Mindfulness may help with that.” In a study she reviewed, “people with pre-hypertension were randomly assigned to…either a course in mindfulness meditation or a program that taught progressive muscle relaxation. Those who learned mindfulness had significantly greater reductions in their systolic and diastolic blood pressure.” The results of this study are illustrated in Figure 2 below, where it is shown that meditation decreased blood pressure by 5 mmHg, compared to muscle relaxation that decreased it by only 2 mmHg. Heart disease is often accompanied or even caused by high blood pressure, so through the practice of meditation, blood pressure could be lowered, thus reducing how hard the heart has to work. Both of these distinguished individuals recommend the practice of meditation because of the benefits it can have regarding heart disease, such as improving heart rate variability and lowering blood pressure, and they both have research to prove it.

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Another key component of people with heart disease is that they are typically under a significant amount of stress, and Harvard Medical School illustrates that “there’s no question that stress can exert real physiological effects on the body-including the heart.” Meditation can aid in relieving stress, as Harvard Medical School goes into further detail by listing meditation, along with staying positive, exercising, unplugging (less electronics), and finding your own path to stress relief, as five tips to try in order to manage stress and help the heart simultaneously (Stress and your heart). Authors at the EOC Institute would agree, as they say, “The effects of meditation last long after it’s over. When your brain and entire circulatory system are in good condition, your body easily copes with the stresses of daily life. Your heart pumps easier and significantly reduces the possibility of it overworking, making you less likely to be stressed.” Overall, meditation can improve the condition of the entire circulatory system, which in turn aids in coping with stress and preventing stress in the future. Through meditation, the circulatory system is functioning at a higher level, making stress less of a burden both emotionally and on the heart, causing the heart to be more efficient.  

 

Since meditation is so readily available, it can easily be a part of a daily routine for people with a heart condition. For example, my dad, Doug, who used to be as big around as a toothpick and could run a five minute mile, is now diabetic and his tricuspid aortic valve in his heart is actually bicuspid, which means instead of three flaps that open and close to allow blood flow to and from the heart, he only has two flaps that open and close. This has caused his aorta to enlarge, and if it enlarges more in the future, surgery is a must. In addition, he is always under an abundant amount of stress, and he commented, “My doctors tell me all the stress I have is not good for my heart, and I found meditation as a way to relieve some of that.” When meditating, he lays on the couch with his eyes closed, listening to a guy telling him things like “breathe in, breathe out, now relax your face muscles.” My dad sees the benefits of meditation working on himself, as he comments, “I just lay there with my eyes closed. The only things I think about are the guy’s voice who is telling me what to do, and the calming things I am actually doing, like taking deep breathes. Doing this, it clears my mind and I no longer think about what is stressing me out. I realize I am in control, and I can do this. Nothing else really matters, I control what I do and how I feel.” In addition, he commented on why he meditates and how he feels after, and he stated, “The weight on my chest feels as if it has been lifted, and I find that my overall stress level decreases, thus causing my mood and outlook on life to improve.” Not only does this make him happier and less stressed, it also makes my entire family happier seeing his mood improve and a smile on his face. Even though it may not work for all people, this is evidence that meditation has the potential to get rid of some stress, thus allowing the heart to function at a higher level. 

 

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Despite all of the positive effects meditation can have, it also has the potential to produce negative effects. The National Health Service in the UK, which is the national healthcare system in England, conducted a study with 60 people who practice a form of Buddhist meditation, where “41% of them followed meditation of 10 hours a day or more,” and concluded that “82% of people questioned had experienced fear, anxiety, or paranoia.” The study raises a valuable point that meditation can produce negative side effects for people, but the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) gives more in depth data by “review[ing] 47 trials in 3,515 participants suggest[ing] that mindfulness meditation programs show moderate evidence of improving anxiety.” The data from the NCCIH is more reliable, as they reviewed 47 trials which included thousands of patients, as opposed to the National Health Service who conducted only one trial with 60 people. In addition, about 40% of people in the National Health Service study meditated for 10 or more hours a day, whereas people with heart disease will probably only meditate around 10 minutes a day. Sitting alone with one’s thoughts has the potential to be dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous if it is 10 minutes a day, as opposed to 10 hours. 

 

There are even further benefits meditation can have on those with heart disease, other than just raising heart rate variability, and decreasing blood pressure and stress levels. According to the British Heart Foundation, “A five-year study asked 201 patients with coronary heart disease to do transcendental meditation for 15 minutes a day. The researchers found that this reduced the risk of death, heart attack, and stroke by 48 percent…[and] concluded this practice may be clinically useful… in the prevention of further heart or stroke events for people who already have this condition.” This information is depicted in Figure 3, where it shows how meditation significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death, compared to health education. The patients in this study already have a specific heart disease, so their risk of death, heart attack, and stroke is significantly higher than someone who does not have heart disease. However, by just practicing meditation for a simple 10 or 15 minutes a day, their risk for these three horrific events is cut almost in half. By adding a calming, quiet 15 minutes to a daily routine, the risk of events that could lead to death are significantly reduced, thus having the potential to save a myriad of lives. 

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Furthermore, Cathy Wong, an American College of Nutrition certified nutrition specialist and journalist, says, “An online mindfulness training program may improve exercise capacity in people with heart disease…For the study, participants received three months of either usual care plus online mindfulness training or usual care alone. At a 12-month follow-up, those who had received the mindfulness training had a small improvement in exercise capacity.” The participants in this study all had some sort of heart disease, and those who participated in the mindfulness meditation training had a greater exercise capacity than those who did not. In this sense, exercise capacity means how long an individual can maintain exercising before they have to stop due to fatigue. Increased exercise capacity is significant in people with heart disease because exercise is one of the most common components that can help reduce the severity of their condition. With a greater exercise capacity, people are able to exercise longer, which can in turn give cardiovascular benefits to their heart. 

 

All in all, meditation has a multitude of benefits that can positively impact people with heart disease. Not only can it reduce blood pressure and stress levels, it can also improve heart rate variability, exercise capacity, and most importantly, significantly reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death. All of these benefits may not be achieved in every person, but even if just one of them is, the condition of the heart is most likely improving. After all, who wouldn’t want to decrease how much stress they have or their risk of dying, having a heart attack, or having a stroke? Meditation is a relatively simple activity that can be done almost anywhere, is cost free, and does not take up a huge chunk of time. Next time a spare ten or fifteen minutes pops up, try to relax and meditate, and all of the beneficial outcomes may be surprising.