During the 3-month intervention, participants were divided into 2 groups that performed 15 minutes of structured yoga or stretching 5 times weekly in addition to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise training.
Blood pressure, anthropometry, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), glucose and lipid levels as well as Framingham and Reynolds risk scores were measured.
At baseline, there were no differences between groups in age, gender, smoking rate, body mass index (BMI), resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and pulse pressure.
After 3 months, reductions in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate were observed in both groups.
However, systolic blood pressure was reduced by 10 mmHg with yoga versus 4 mmHg with stretching. The yoga approach also reduced resting heart rate and 10-year cardiovascular risk using Reynold’s risk score.