Heart Beat: June 2012

Older adults who practice Tai Chi demonstrated greater arterial compliance and greater muscle strength than non-practitioners, in a study published online in the April issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Arterial compliance refers to the elasticity of large arteries, such as the thoracic aorta. Previous research has found that arterial stiffness, in which an artery fails to rebound or change in response to pressure changes, is closely associated with cardiovascular disease. Other studies have also shown that Tai Chi practitioners have greater cardiopulmonary function than non-practitioners.