Effect of Taijiquan and slow walking on Chinese elderly female's cardiovascular function and quality of life

Objective: To explore the effect of Taijiquan and slow walking on Chinese elderly female’s cardiovascular function and quality of life. Methods: A total of 140 elderly female were selected and divided into study group and control group randomly with 70 in each group. The study group took Taijiquan exercise, while the control group took slow walking exercise. The physical fitness levels, changes of blood volume and viscosity were observed and compared, as well as the improvement of quality of life, cardiovascular function related indicators, before and six months after the intervention, respectively. Results: Six months after the intervention, the study group was significantly better than the control group in physical fitness related indicators such as handgrip, sit-and-reach, choosing reaction, stand on one leg with closed eyes, and body mass index (BMI) (P<0.05). The blood volume and blood viscosity of the study group were improved significantly, which both better than those of the control group (P<0.05). The study group’ quality of life were better than the control groups’ (P<0.05); and the cardiovascular function related indicators of the study group were significantly better than those of the control group, such as heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI) and pre-ejection period (PEP) (P<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with slow walking exercise, Taijiquan exercise can improve the physical fitness, cardiovascular function, and quality of life in Chinese elderly female population significantly, by promoting blood circulation and sleeping quality.