A study presented last week at the American Heart Association meeting suggests that mental relaxation produced by meditation may have physiological benefits, at least in the case of people with established coronary artery disease. Researchers followed about 200 high-risk patients for an average of five years. Among the 100 who meditated, there were 20 heart attacks, strokes and deaths'! in the comparison group, there were 32. (57) The meditators tended to remain disease-free longer and also reduced their blood pressure. "We found reduced blood pressure that was significant—that was probably one important mediator," said Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention in Fairfield, Iowa, who presented the findings. The study was conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, in collaboration with the institute. Dr. Schneider suggested that (58) the stress reduction produced by the meditation could cause changes in the brain that cut stress hormones and decelerate the processes associated with atherosclerosis (动脉硬化).
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