Yoga for Blood Pressure and Heart Health: Evidence

Urgent first

Chest pain, pressure or tightness that does not go away, or other possible heart attack symptoms, are a reason to call 911 in the United States, even if you are not sure it is a heart attack. [1] Do not wait to finish a class or try a breathing practice first. This page is information only and does not replace care from your own clinician.

The short answer

Yoga is a movement practice that grew out of Indian traditions (see what yoga is). Reviews of trials suggest it may lower blood pressure a little, and some reviews also report small changes in cholesterol and body mass index. The evidence is promising but limited: trials are often small, cannot be blinded, and vary a lot in what "yoga" meant. For people who already have heart disease, there is insufficient evidence that yoga changes the risk of dying or of heart events. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, and lifestyle changes and blood pressure medicines can both help people stay healthy. [2]

What the research found

1. Blood pressure, many risk factors

   promising but limited

   A meta-analysis pooled 64 randomized trials with 16,797 people. [3] Yoga lowered systolic pressure by about 4.6 mm Hg and diastolic by about 3.4 mm Hg. [3] The authors called the effect modest. [3]

2. Prehypertension (blood pressure above normal but not yet high blood pressure)

   promising but limited

   A review of 8 trials found lower systolic and diastolic pressure. [4] The authors noted there was no proper structured dosage of postures and breathing. [4]

3. Meditation and yoga in people with hypertension

   mixed

   A review of 13 studies included seven of meditation and six of yoga. [5] Some results showed little difference, and yoga seemed to help people under 60. [5]

4. Heart disease already present

   insufficient evidence for heart events

   Seven trials with 4,671 people, mostly men, found no effect on deaths from any cause. [6] Yoga did improve a quality-of-life score. [6] No severe yoga-related adverse events were reported. [6]

5. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (a breath-based program)

   insufficient evidence

   A review of 21 studies, seven of moderate quality and fourteen weak, reported possible gains in blood pressure and lipids but urged caution. [7]

The same large review reported that all parts of the lipid (blood fat) profile, including LDL cholesterol, improved with yoga. [3] The authors of that review describe earlier findings on yoga and these risk factors as inconsistent. [3] Read the pooled results as a small average effect, not a promise for any one person.

What these studies cannot tell you

• Blinding and expectation. You cannot hide from people whether they are doing yoga, so results such as how someone feels may be shaped by expectation. Blood pressure readings are more objective, but clinic readings can still vary.
• Different programs. Trials combined postures, breathing and meditation in different amounts, so a result does not tell you which part mattered. [4]
• Medicine comparisons. One review concluded that meditation and yoga were "alternatives to pharmacotherapy". [5] That goes further than trials of this size and length can show, and it is not a reason to change prescribed treatment.
• Heart events. Lower blood pressure numbers are not the same as fewer heart attacks or strokes. The trials of people with heart disease did not show a difference in deaths. [6]

What heart groups say

The American Heart Association published a scientific statement on meditation (not on yoga postures). It found a possible benefit for cardiovascular risk, although the overall quality and quantity of the data were modest. [8] It said meditation may be considered an adjunct, meaning an addition, to guideline-directed risk reduction. [8] No claim in that statement is a basis for stopping medicines. For meditation itself, see meditation for stress, sleep and anxiety.

Practical next steps

1. Get your blood pressure checked and ask what your own targets are.
2. Ask whether your care team wants you to do other activity as well; the NHS suggests aiming for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. [2]
3. If you try yoga, choose a gentle class and read who should check with a clinician before yoga. For stress-related benefits see yoga for stress.

Related: yoga evidence by outcome, Qigong for blood pressure, yoga safety overview.