Effects of Tai Chi Exercises on Cardiovascular Risks, Recurrence Risk, and Quality of Life in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi applied cardiac rehabilitation program(TCCRP) on cardiovascular risks, recurrence risk in ten years, and cardiac specific quality of life in individuals with coronary artery disease. Methods: The sample was comprised of individuals diagnosed with coronary artery disease within six months of the study who were referred by their primary physicians to participate in the TCCRP. The design was a pretest/posttest with non-equivalent groups with 30 in TCCRP program and 33 wait-listed comparison group. Results: The average age of all participants was sixty seven years. At the completion of the TCCRP, the Tai Chi group showed significant reduction in their ten year recurrent risk for coronary artery disease measured by Framingham’s algorithm. The quality of life for the experimental group was reported as significantly higher than the comparison group, especially the area of general symptom. Conclusion: The outpatient cardiac rehabilitation with Tai Chi was applied effectively and safely without any complication to individuals with coronary artery disease. Tai Chi can be useful as an alternative exercise for cardiac rehabilitation program which may provide more access to individuals for cardiovascular risk management in the community settings.