Yoga 'significantly reduces' blood pressure in pre-hypertensive patients, claims study
New Delhi, Jan 1: Six months of yoga lifestyle "significantly reduces" blood pressure in pre-hypertensive patients, a new study by doctors at a city hospital has claimed.
The study, recently published in the Journal of Hypertension, was conducted by researchers from the Department of Neurophysiology of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH).
"It was a randomised study of 120 patients to study the effect of yoga lifestyle on ambulatory blood pressure in patients with high normal blood pressure (prehypertension)," the hospital said in a statement.
The patients were divided into two groups -- Group A (yoga), who were assigned to practice yoga an intensive lifestyle modification; while patients in the Group B (conventional) were prescribed the conventional lifestyle modifications (exercise, diet, smoking cessation), it said.
"Twenty-four hour diastolic BP particularly the night diastolic and mean arterial pressures showed a significant decrease from the baseline in the yoga group compared to the conventional group, whose members underwent lifestyle modifications at 12 weeks," said Nandini Agarwal, author of the study.
"This study has convincingly demonstrated that yoga intervention in patients with prehypertension can significantly reduce blood pressure," Agarwal claimed.
M Gourie Devi, Chairperson, Department of Neurophysiology at the SGRH, said, "Hypertension is a major public health problem throughout the world with over one in five adults affected worldwide and this is likely to increase to 29.2 per cent by 2025."
Pre-hypertension is a precursor of clinical hypertension and is closely related with the increased incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, Devi said.
Sandeep Joshi, co-author of the study, said, "Patients with prehypertension (120- 139 / 80-89 mmHg) have an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality compared with patients who have normal blood pressure (less than 120/80 mmHg)."
The yogic practices that were followed in the study were, health rejuvenating exercises, asanas, breathing and relaxation exercises and meditation, the hospital said.
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Modi should leverage his ties with world leaders to de-escalate war in West Asia: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said India can play a meaningful role in de-escalation in West Asia, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relations with the warring countries and their neighbours.
He said Pakistan was leveraging ties with Iran and the United States, and that any effort towards ending the war should be welcomed.
"As I said in the House (Assembly), we would like the war to end as soon as possible. The role that the prime minister can play may not be possible for anyone else because of his good relations with all these countries," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He, however, said any escalation would not be easy to manage.
"Any such move by US President Donald Trump, despite the long history of Iran resisting external domination, would not be easy," the chief minister said.
Asked about Pakistan mediating in the war, he said, "I will simply say that if any country can play a role in preventing this war, no one should have any objection to it."
He added, "I will repeat what I said … our prime minister has good and close relations with all countries — whether it is Israel, the United States, Iran, or the countries around Iran. If those relationships can be used to make some progress and help ease the situation, it would be a good thing."
Abdullah said attacks by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, as suggested by a report from the United States, are not unlikely.
Meanwhile, he asserted that any efforts to end the war, be it from Pakistan, must not be resisted.
"Pakistan is using its good relations with Iran and the United States to its advantage, and it has done so. How can we object to that? If that angle helps in stopping the war, would you want them not to act and let the war continue? We want the war to stop. If any country can play a role in that, it should. And if we can play an even better role, then we should do so," he said.
On unemployment in J-K, the chief minister said the issue cannot be resolved overnight, and government jobs alone are not the solution.
He stressed the need to explore alternative avenues, highlighting the importance of Mission Yuva in promoting entrepreneurship.
"Mission Yuva provides not just funding but also support in preparing DPRs and post-startup assistance, such as marketing. In just nine months, distributing Rs 1,000 crore and approving numerous schemes is a significant achievement," he said.
Abdullah credited the coordination between the government and Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the scheme's progress.
