This study in collaboration with the American National Institute of Health followed mortality patterns over a period of 19 years after adults with high blood pressure were taught the Transcendental Meditation technique, or participated in controlled interventions. The results showed a 23% decrease in mortality rates by all causes, and a 30% decrease in mortality rates for heart diseases in the TM group, as compared to the control group.Ref.American Journal of Cardiology 95: 1060–1064, 2005

This randomised, controlled study on patients with documented cardiovascular diseases found that those randomly assigned to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique, had a reduction of 43% of the risk of death, hemorrhage or stroke in the follow up period of 5 to 9 years, in comparison to the control group that took part in the programme for health care education. Later analysis showed that participants that had most regularly practiced TM actually had a 61% reduction in the risk of death, heart attack or stroke in comparison to the controls.Ref.Circulation 120: S461 (Abstract), 2009

This meta-analysis located in the published literature 107 studies on stress reduction and blood pressure, of which 17 studies containing 23 treatment comparisons among 960 subjects met standard criteria for well-designed randomized control trials in which there were multiple studies for each treatment category for hypertensive patients. Among these studies, only the Transcendental Meditation Programme was found to have a statistically significant impact on reducing high blood pressure among hypertensive subjects. (p=.0002).Ref.Current Hypertension Reports 9: 520–528, 2007. voor volledig artikel click hier

The term ‘cardiac syndrome X’ is used for patients with pain in the chest (angina) and normal coronary angiogramman. Such patients often keep symptoms despite conventional anti angina medication and reassurance by their cardiologist. The pain in the chest that occurs among them often plays up during exercise but also frequently in rest; such symptoms can closely simulate unstable angina and give cause to renewed hospitalisation and new examinations. Through the twice a day practice of Transcendental Meditation for a period of three months, the occurrence of angina episodes significantly decreased, exercise tolerance increased and subjective quality of life among patients with this syndrome improved.Ref.American Journal of Cardiology 85: 653-655, 2000

An important predictor for death caused by heart problems is the left ventricular mass, the thickening of the muscle in the left ventricular of the heart. This thickening can be an anatomic response to hypertension or other cardiovascular problems. This study showed that adolescents with high normal blood pressure that were taught the Transcendental Meditation technique showed a reduction of the left ventricular mass, after 4 months, in comparison to those who were randomly assigned to a control group receiving health education.Ref.Annals of Behavioral Medicine 37(Supplement): S195 (Abstract), 2009

Heart patients that were taught the Transcendental Meditation technique showed increased exercise tolerance in comparison to controls as measured by the increased maximum work burden (graphed here), increased physical exercise time and improvements in other cardiovascular measurements.Ref.The American Journal of Cardiology  77: 867–870, 1996

Patients recently admitted to the hospital with cognitive heart failures, and that were taught Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation technique, after 6 months showed better functional capacity, in comparison to those that were randomly assigned to control groups that received health information. Functional capacity was measured through a six-minute walking test, by measuring how far an individual was able to walk in the time allotted.Ref.Ethnicity & Disease 17: 72–77, 2007

This randomized controlled clinical trial among individuals with stable cardiac heart disease found that 16 weeks of practice of the Transcendental Meditation Programme, in contrast to participation in a health education programme, led to a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure. Hypertension is one of the components of the ‘metabolic syndrome’, often associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia; this syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Ref.Archives of Internal Medicine 166: 1218–1224, 2006

Among military cadets that were taught the Transcendental Meditation technique, an increased cardiovascular efficiency and stability was demonstrated prior to physical exercise, as measured by reduced resting heart rate right before a running exercise.Ref.‘Project for introduction of a programme for prevention of stress—Transcendental Meditation’. Centre for Personnel Studies, Department of Teaching and Research, Ministry of the Army, Brazil.