How Tai Chi in later life is good for the heart

TAI Chi can significantly improve heart health in the elderly, a study has found.

Older subjects who regularly performed the traditional Chinese mind-and-body exercise were less likely to have high blood pressure and were stronger.

Pulse measurements showed Tai Chi improved expansion and contraction of the arteries – known as arterial compliance – as well as increasing knee muscle strength.

Arterial compliance is an important indicator of heart health in the elderly because stiffness in the arteries is closely associated with cardiovascular diseases.

The study, published online in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, involved 65 elderly subjects from Hong Kong, 29 of whom had practised Tai Chi for at least 90 minutes a week for three years.

The Tai Chi subjects scored better in almost all medical observations, including blood pressure, vascular resistance and pulse pressure.

Measurements also showed that both large and small artery compliance was significantly higher in the Tai Chi group.

Researcher Dr William Tsang, from the The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said: ‘The improvement in arterial compliance could have resulted from a combination of aerobic training, stretching, mental concentration and calm meditation.’