Cardiovascular Response to Qigong Training in European and Asian Participants

Background: Qigong exercise has been shown to improve cardiovascular function in clinical populations. Ethnicity differences in cardiovascular responses to Qigong exercise have not been studied extensively, especially regarding females. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare cardiovascular effects to Qigong training between healthy, sedentary Asian and European female participants. Methods: In this study, European and Asian participants were lifelong European and Asian residents respectively. Six healthy, sedentary Asian females (aged 53.0±5.7 years) and 6 European healthy, sedentary females (aged 49.6±7.4 years) performed Qigong exercise 3 days per week for 8 weeks followed by 12 weeks of no exercise. Blood pressure and heart rate values at rest and during submaximal exercise were assessed at baseline (T1), after the end of the training program (T2), and after 12 weeks of exercise cessation (T3). Results: European participants showed a significant reduction in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) after Qigong training (SBP: T=130.83±18.82 mmHg, T2=111.83±9.09 mmHg, p=0.05; MAP: T1=96.94±6.95 mmHg, T2=87.95±6.00 mmHg, p=0.02), which returned to baseline level after exercise cessation (SBP: T3=124.17±10.21mmHg, p=0.01; MAP: T3=96.94±4.77 mmHg, p=0.01). Asian participants showed slightly reduced SBP values after the training but these changes did not reach statistical significance (T1=123.00±13.48 mmHg, T2=116.83±6.46 mmHg, p=0.22). Heart rates at submaximal exercise was reduced after training in both groups (European participants: T1=118.67±9.48 beats/min, T2=112.83±7.78 beats/min, p=0.03; Asian participants: T1=113.50±4.32 beats/min, T2= 101.83±11.87 beats/min, p