The effect of 8 weeks of combined yoga and rehabilitation training on salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of combined rehabilitation and yoga training on salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol in patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 20 CABG patients were randomly divided into two groups of cardiac rehabilitation training group (CRT, n = 10) and combined training group (yoga-cardiac rehabilitation) (computed tomography [CT], n = 10). After initial clinical evaluation, exercise test, and salivation with 12 h fasting, individuals were referred to the rehabilitation ward of Shahid Rajaie Heart Hospital in Tehran and performed their exercise program for 8 weeks and three sessions per week then their evaluations were made again. A dependent t-test was used for intra-group changes and an independent t-test was used to compare the two groups at a significant level of 0.05. Results: The CT group showed a significant effect on salivary cortisol (P = 0.028), but these interventions did not show a significant effect on salivary alpha-amylase (P = 0.193). Furthermore, CRT alone had a significant effect on salivary cortisol indices (P = 0.011), there was no significant difference between groups (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that combined yoga and rehabilitation training had beneficial effects on the salivary levels of the stress factors that have been studied. Therefore, this type of rehabilitation exercise is recommended for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.