瑜伽訓練對高血壓及高血壓前期患者心血管系統心理壓力反應之影響

研究背景：高血壓是心臟疾病、腦中風、糖尿病、腎臟病等重大慢性病的共同危險因子，高血壓前期患者更容易罹患高血壓，先前的研究指出諸如瑜伽、放鬆技巧、冥想等身心療法可以調節自主神經功能。研究目的：探討為期12週的瑜伽訓練計畫對高血壓及高血壓前期患者在休息和心理壓力時期的血壓、心率和心率變異度的影響。研究方法：本研究為兩組隨機對照實驗，把符合條件的志願參與者隨機分成瑜伽組與控制組。瑜伽組接受每週2次為期12週的瑜伽訓練課程，而控制組則沒有任何介入。所有參與者在實驗開始前與12週後配合完成問卷填寫及身高、體重、血壓、心率及壓力測試等評估。研究結果：兩組的心率和血壓在心理壓力測試第9分鐘時皆達到最高，瑜伽組在恢復期第一分鐘心率和血壓的後測值顯著低於前測值。HRV的RMSSD在恢復期兩組間的變化量達顯著差異。控制組的體重與BMI顯著增加而瑜伽組則維持不變。結論：十二週的瑜伽練習可以讓高血壓與高血壓前期患者的心率與血壓及心率變異度較快從心理壓力中恢復，可能有助於降低未來心血管疾病的風險。但是，瑜伽練習不會影響休息時的心率，血壓和心率變異性。瑜伽有助於體重的維持，因此，瑜伽對於高血壓與高血壓前期患者來說，是安全並可以推薦的運動方式。

關鍵字

瑜伽；高血壓；心理壓力；心率變異度

並列摘要

Background：Hypertension is a common risk factor for major chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Patients with prehypertension are more likely to become hypertension. Previous research has pointed out that therapies such as yoga, relaxation techniques, Meditation, etc. Can regulate autonomic nerve function. Purpose：To examine the effect of a 12-week yoga training program on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) during rest and psychological stress in individuals with hypertension and prehypertension. Method：This study was a two-group randomized controlled experiment, which randomly assigned eligible participants into a yoga or a control group. The yoga group received a 12-week yoga training course twice a week, while the control group did not receive any intervention. All participants completed the questionnaires and assessments of height, weight, BP, HR and stress tests before and after the intervention. Result：The HR and BP of the two groups reached the highest at the 9th minute of the psychological stress test. At post-test, the HR and BP of the yoga group at the first minute of the recovery period was significantly lower than that at pre-test. The RMSSD changes were significantly different during the recovery period between the two groups. The weight and BMI of the control group increased significantly while the yoga group remained unchanged. Conclusion：Twelve weeks of yoga practice may allow the heart rate, blood pressure and heart rate variability of patients with hypertension and prehypertension to recover from psychological stress faster, which may help reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease. However, yoga practice did not affect heart rate, blood pressure and heart rate variability at rest. Additionally, yoga helps maintain body weight. Therefore, yoga appears to be a safe and recommended exercise mode for patients with hypertension and prehypertension.