Tai Chi Medical

The Question:

Can Tai Chi reduce blood pressure after an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack)?

The Answer:

Tai Chi reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The Study:

Changes in haemodynamic parameters following Tai Chi Chuan and aerobic exercise in patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction.

Following a myocardial infarction, 126 patients were randomly allocated to Tai Chi, aerobic exercise or a non-exercise support group. The patients were males with an average age 56 years. 38 patients practiced the Wu Chian-Ch’uan style of Tai Chi for 8 weeks (1 hour sessions, twice a week for 3 weeks and then weekly for 5 weeks).
The aerobic exercise group showed decreasing systolic blood pressure over the 11 sessions.
The Tai Chi group showed decreasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure over the 11 sessions.

K. S. Channer, D. Barrow, R. Barrow, M. Osborne, and G. Ives
Postgraduate Medical Journal. 1996 June. Free full text.

Diseases and Conditions Blood pressure, Myocardial infarction