Can yoga help heart failure patients? New study reveals promising benefits
New Delhi: Yoga has traditionally been associated with increased flexibility, stress relief, and all-round well-being. But could it help people living with heart failure, too? Adding yoga to cardiac rehab may help patients feel better, move more comfortably and manage everyday activities, a new study suggests.
Results presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026 show that a structured yoga-based rehabilitation programme can improve quality of life and physical functioning in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
While patients who practised yoga reported improvements in their daily lives, the programme did not significantly lower their combined risk of death, hospitalisation or stroke. The research, led by the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in India, is preliminary and has not yet undergone peer review.
Can yoga improve quality of life in heart failure patients?
Living with heart failure can make even routine activities exhausting. The heart may not be able to pump blood well, making it hard to walk even short distances, climb stairs or do housework.
That’s where cardiac rehabilitation can come in handy. Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised programme to help people recover and manage their health after a heart attack, heart surgery or diagnosis of heart failure. It generally includes physical activity, lifestyle education and counselling.
However, not everyone has access to these programmes. Limited facilities, travel difficulties and other barriers often prevent patients from participating, particularly in countries where healthcare resources are stretched.
“Cardiac rehab programs are inaccessible to many, and their uptake is poor in many countries,” said lead study author Dorairaj Prabhakaran, executive director of the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in India. According to Prabhakaran, yoga-based rehabilitation could offer some of the benefits of conventional cardiac rehabilitation at a lower cost, potentially making it easier to introduce in places such as India.
What did the study find?
Researchers studied 3,492 adults diagnosed with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction across 16 medical centres in India. This type of heart failure occurs when the heart’s main pumping chamber cannot contract effectively enough to pump blood around the body. The participants had a median age of 57 years, and 27 per cent were women.
They were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group included 1,737 patients who participated in a structured yoga-based cardiac rehabilitation programme called Yoga-CaRe. The programme combined yoga practices with health education and individual health goals.
The second group included 1,755 patients who received enhanced standard care, consisting of three health education sessions over three months.
Participants in the yoga group attended 20 supervised sessions during the first three months. After that, they were offered one supervised session every three months until the end of the follow-up period. The researchers then assessed whether yoga made a difference to patients’ quality of life, physical functioning and major health outcomes.
Yoga helped patients walk farther and feel better
After three months, participants who followed the yoga-based rehabilitation programme showed significantly greater improvement than those receiving enhanced standard care. These changes were assessed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. This is a measure of how heart failure impacts a person’s daily life. Patients in the yoga group had an improvement of about eight points compared with the other group. The lower the score on this questionnaire, the better the quality of life.
The researchers also conducted a six-minute walking test to assess physical functioning. Those participating in the yoga programme walked an average of 25.5 metres further than those receiving enhanced standard care. It suggests yoga-based rehab may help some patients be more physically able to cope with day-to-day activities .
However, the findings do not mean that yoga can reverse heart failure or restore normal heart function.
Could yoga make cardiac rehabilitation more accessible in India?
One of the biggest challenges in traditional cardiac rehabilitation is access. Patients living in small towns or in areas with limited medical resources may have difficulty travelling frequently to rehabilitation centres.
Researchers believe that a structured yoga-based programme can overcome some of these barriers. In the study, the Yoga-CaRe programme was delivered by a single board-certified yoga and naturopathy practitioner. Researchers also reported strong participation in supervised sessions and home practice.
However, its affordability has not yet been established through a formal cost-effectiveness analysis.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the research and is intended for informational purposes only. The findings should not be considered medical advice or used for self-diagnosis or treatment. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalised guidance.