People who regularly practise transcendental meditation have fewer deaths because of heart attacks and strokes, a visiting cardiologist will tell an audience at Canterbury University next week.
American academic researcher Dr Robert Schneider is touring New Zealand this month to explain the health benefits of meditation.
"I want to tell New Zealand doctors why the American Heart Association is now recommending transcendental meditation," he said.
Canterbury University health sciences lecturer Dr Arindam Basu said cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of deaths in New Zealand. Many of the deaths are premature and preventable.
"High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and sedentary lifestyles are believed to be major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, in particular coronary artery diseases. Because of this, lifestyle modifications and pharmaceutical interventions are used to prevent and treat heart diseases.
"Transcendental meditation is the most widely researched aspect of mind-body medicine with over 600 peer-reviewed published journal articles to testify its effectiveness."
Transcendental meditation refers to a simple, psychophysiological procedure practised for 20 minutes twice a day, Dr Basu said.
The meditation techniques are taught by trained instructors and can be practised in conjunction with most conventional treatments.
"This technique not only reduces death and disability from heart diseases, but it reduces significant risk factors of heart disease including cigarette smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
"It is believed that practising transcendental meditation to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is probably most directly related to its ability to lower psychosocial stress and to correct deleterious effects of stress."
Dr Schneider's lecture at Canterbury University is next Wednesday, October 9.
