A supervised yoga-based cardiac rehabilitation programme improved quality of life and walking distance for adults with a form of heart failure in an Indian trial. It did not show a statistically significant reduction in the combined outcome of death, hospitalisation or stroke.
The findings presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions on 7 November 2026 are preliminary. They have not yet been published as a full, peer-reviewed study.
What the trial tested
Researchers randomly assigned 3,492 adults at 16 medical centres in India to one of two groups. All had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, meaning the heart’s main pumping chamber pushes out 40% or less of the blood it contains with each beat.
One group received a structured programme with 20 supervised yoga-based rehabilitation sessions over three months, health education and individual goals. The comparison group received the same health booklet and three education sessions. The trial studied a guided rehabilitation programme alongside usual heart failure care, not yoga classes or exercises undertaken alone.
What changed, and what did not
After three months, the yoga-based rehabilitation group had better scores on a questionnaire about living with heart failure. The difference between groups was about eight points. Participants in that group also walked an average of 25.5 metres farther in a six-minute test, according to the trial presentation reported by TCTMD.
Over a median follow-up of 15 months, death, hospitalisation or stroke occurred in 21.0% of the rehabilitation group and 22.8% of the comparison group. That difference was not statistically significant. The American Heart Association’s trial summary also reports gains in quality of life and walking distance, without a significant reduction in the combined clinical outcome.
Why the limits matter
Participants knew which programme they received, and the supervised group had substantially more contact with a practitioner. Those differences make it difficult to separate the effects of yoga practice from the effects of additional guidance and attention.
The results offer evidence about one structured programme for people with this particular form of heart failure. They do not establish that unsupervised yoga has the same effect, that the programme prevents serious medical events, or that it can replace prescribed treatment. A full peer-reviewed paper and further study will help clarify how the programme might fit into cardiac rehabilitation.
