Effect of short term pranayama on heart rate variability in hypothyroidism

Introduction: Thyroid dysfunctions are common global health problems, hypothyroidism accounting for 5–15% and hyperthyroidism 0.3 to 0.6% in general population. Recently, the incidence of thyroid dysfunctions has increased considerably and presently, the burden of thyroid disorders in India is about 42 millions Methodology: The present study was conducted on 50 volunteers’ in between 18-30yrs of age. After obtaining ethical clearance from the institutional Human Ethics Committee. Inclusion criteria consisting of 18-30 years of aged women, newly diagnosed hypothyroidism. Pregnant or breast-feeding, addicted to alcohol or drugs, those who are already practicing pranayama were the criteria to exclude the patients.Results: Within group differences of HRV parameters were depicted in Table 2. Following pranayama training, the frequency domain measures of HRV showed significant reduction in LFnu and improvement in HFnu in both the groups. However the increase in HFnu in PG was 165.54% and in CG was 45.26%. The decrease in LFnu in PG and CG was 57.12% and 27.74% respectively.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that regular practice of pranayama in addition to standard medical therapy is more beneficial to improve heart rate variability in hypothyroid patients.