Effects of meditation on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease

Despite the numerous advances in cardiovasular diseasec(CVD) prevention and control during the past decades, it remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, which is a huge burden for global health care.Because of the high cost and side effects of the drugs, it is necessary to find novel, cost-effective and efficient inventions for CVD prevention.Unhealthy lifestyles contribute as a risk factor, such as unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, tobacco, alcohol, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and psychosocial stress.To date, numerous studies have reported the benefit of meditation on health.This review discussed the effect of meditation on cardiovascular risks, including stress, blood pressure, smoking, alcohol drinking and atherosclerosis, as well as the effect on telomere.This review limited to sitting meditation alone (yoga, Qigong, and tai chi were excluded) to reduce the confounding influence of the effects of physical therapies.Overall, meditation showed possible benefits on reduction of cardiovascular risks and improved telomerase activity, although limitations on sample size, quality and methodology are included in current studies.Given its accessibility, low-cost and low-risk, meditation might serve as an adjunct to treatment and prevention of CVD.Since the limitations of current studies, further researches are needed to be established to confirm the benefit of meditation on cardiovascular disease. Key words: Meditation; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular risk