Programme d’exercice en douceur basé sur le yoga Bali chez les personnes atteintes d’insuffisance cardiaque : les premiers pas
Heart failure is an increasingly important issue  associated with  disturbances of the  immune, cardiovascular,  and  autonomic  nervous  systems.  These  disturbances  contribute  to  several  incapacitating  physical  and  psychological  symptoms.  Research  to  date  on  yoga-based  exercise  programs has shown some promise in addressing these symptoms in heart failure. Nevertheless, there  remain  limitations  in the literature  concerning the  populations tested, lack of attention  to  psychological dimensions of heart failure, follow-up  of treatment  adherence  at home and daily symptom experience. This pilot project aims to develop a complementary yoga-based  program for patients with heart  failure,  to  evaluate  feasibility  and  acceptability  of  the  program  within  a  mainly  francophone  community, and  to obtain preliminary data on the impact  of this intervention  on  quality of life  and  physical  and  psychological  symptoms.  The  first  two  participants  enrolled  in  the  pilot  study  are considered for  this  memoire. They attended eight weekly  sessions in which were dispensed instructions  on  Bali  yoga  postures,  in addition to  psychoeducation, relaxation exercises,  and meditation. Sessions  were completed  at  the Montreal Heart Institute by a certified instructor. The development  of  tools  necessary for  the  program, including a  teaching  manual  and patient DVD, the feasibility and assessment  of  the  effects  of  the  program  on  the  physical  and  psychological  symptoms  are  amongst  the  topics  discussed. The results, though preliminary, seem to  suggest  improvement of physiological correlates  related to heart failure, including in autonomic nervous system control of the heart and inflammatory processes.
Yoga Heart failure Quality of life Meditation Psychology