Yoga and Heart Health: Atrial Fibrillation

by Baxter

A yoga workshop to Cincinnati brought me face to face with my first “medical emergency” in the yoga classroom. On the first night of a two-day workshop, one of the students began to complain of a rapid heartbeat and some shortness of breath. I took her off to the side while my co-teacher continued to work with the rest of the group, and discovered, after a few more questions, that she had a condition know as atrial fibrillation. Turns out she had been feeling well lately and had decided to cut back on the medication used to keep her heart rate in a safer range. Fortunately, in this instance, I was able to get the life squad there quickly and shuttle her off to the ER for appropriate care, and the rest of the workshop continued without a hitch. Now a dozen years later, an ongoing study at the University of Kansas seems to suggest that yoga may be helpful in treating this particular heart condition!

So what is atrial fibrillation? According to the National Institutes of Health:

“Atrial fibrillation (A-tre-al fi-bri-LA-shun), or AF, is the most common type of arrhythmia (ah-RITH-me-ah). An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or with an irregular rhythm. AF occurs if rapid, disorganized electrical signals (emphasis mine) cause the heart's two upper chambers—called the atria (AY-tree-uh)—to fibrillate. The term "fibrillate" means to contract very fast and irregularly.”

Sometimes, people who develop this condition notice the rapid, irregular beating of the heart, but sometimes it can go unnoticed for a while. And two very serious conditions can result from untreated atrial fibrillation: strokes (which occur suddenly) and heart failure (which develops more gradually). The underlying problem has to do with the heart’s electrical system not functioning correctly. And because the normal spread of the electrical impulses is both too fast and uncoordinated, the heart becomes both less efficient at sending blood out to the lungs and the body, and blood tends to pool or hang out in the heart chambers longer than it is supposed to. This pooling can lead to blood clots forming in the chambers of the heart, which could then be launched into the arteries that lead to the brain, and—whammo!—a stroke occurs. For more information about AF, check out What is Atrial Fibrillation? from the National Institutes of Health.

Back to 12 years ago, when I was confronted with someone who was having acute symptoms of her rapid heart rate, I needed to get her to a facility that could quickly get her heart rate in a safer range and make sure she was not at risk of a stroke. And I did not have information then on how yoga might impact the course of her problem. Now, research being conducted in Kansas is suggesting that yoga may be a part of the future treatment of AF. At the University of Kansas Hospital, an ongoing study is looking at the effect of regular yoga practice on irregular heartbeat. The yoga world has long known about the connection between yoga meditation and breath techniques and the ability to influence the heart rate. This connection between the mind and the heart is at the center of the theory on how yoga may help with AF. Via yoga’s ability to influence and change the autonomic nervous system, patients may be able to have more control over their heart rate than those who do not do yoga. It is also known that stressful situations and emotional moments can trigger the AF person’s heart to beat more rapidly. So the researchers are monitoring the study participants for how many episodes of recurrent AF happen while on the yoga regimen. They report that the initial results look promising.

AF is one of those medical conditions where a combination of modern western treatment, which includes medications that help control the rate and rhythm of the heart and procedures to help if meds don’t, and lifestyle modifications, like yoga as well as diet and other exercise, will optimize the health of the person with AF. The study is not yet completed, but we will try to keep an eye open for the final report and give you an update when that happens. In the meantime, see Yoga My Heart  for more about the University of Kansas Hospital study.