PURPOSE
The study aims to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi applied cardiac rehabilitation program(TCCRP) on cardiovascular risks, recurrence risk in ten years, and cardiac specific quality of life in individuals with coronary artery disease.
METHODS
The sample was comprised of individuals diagnosed with coronary artery disease within six months of the study who were referred by their primary physicians to participate in the TCCRP. The design was a pretest/posttest with non-equivalent groups with 30 in TCCRP program and 33 wait-listed comparison group.
RESULTS
The average age of all participants was sixty seven years. At the completion of the TCCRP, the Tai Chi group showed significant reduction in their ten year recurrent risk for coronary artery disease measured by Framingham's algorithm. The quality of life for the experimental group was reported as significantly higher than the comparison group, especially the area of general symptom.
CONCLUSION
The outpatient cardiac rehabilitation with Tai Chi was applied effectively and safely without any complication to individuals with coronary artery disease. Tai Chi can be useful as an alternative exercise for cardiac rehabilitation program which may provide more access to individuals for cardiovascular risk management in the community settings.

Citations

• Effects of a spousal participation health promotion program for middle-aged and old men who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention based on Cox’s Interaction Model: A quasi-experimental study with nonequivalent control group pre- and post-test
  Kyung Shim Lee, Kyung Mi Sung
  Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing.2025; 27(2): 119.     CrossRef
• Validation of the cardiac health behavior scale for Korean adults with cardiovascular risks or diseases
  Rhayun Song, Hyunkyoung Oh, Sukhee Ahn, Sue Moorhead
  Applied Nursing Research.2018; 39: 252.     CrossRef
• The Effects of Smart Program for Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SP-PCI) on Disease-Related Knowledge, Health Behavior, and Quality of Life: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial
  Jueun Lee, Haejung Lee
  Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing.2017; 47(6): 756.     CrossRef
• Effects of Self-care Health Behaviors on Quality of Life Mediated by Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Individuals with Coronary Artery Disease: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
  Sukhee Ahn, Rhayun Song, Si Wan Choi
  Asian Nursing Research.2016; 10(2): 158.     CrossRef
• The Relationships among Health Locus of Control and Resilience, Social Support and Health Promoting Behavior in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Coronary Artery Diseases
  Nayeon Shin, Younhee Kang
  Korean Journal of Adult Nursing.2015; 27(3): 294.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Tai Chi exercise on muscle strength, balance, flexibility and bone mineral density among community dwelling elderly women.
METHODS
A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent comparison group was utilized, Elderly women were recruited from the community settings and assigned to either the treatment group (n=30) or the comparison group (n=34). Both groups completed the pretest and the posttest measures at six months with an 29.7% of dropouts. Tai Chi exercise was performed for 60 minutes, three times a week for 24 weeks. The study participants were referred to the sports clinic of the university hospital where an exercise therapist and a technician measured muscle strength, balance, flexibility, and bone mineral density without the knowledge of the group assignment. Data were collected from June 14, 2010 to May 27, 2011.
RESULTS
At the completion of 6 month Tai Chi exercise, the experimental group showed a significant difference in knee flexor strength (t=3.26, p=.002), flexibility (t=-2.93, p=.005), and bone mineral density in femur (t=2.20, p=.032), compared to the control group.
CONCLUSION
Tai Chi exercise could be performed safely to community dwelling elderly women and effective for preventing declining in physical function in this population. Whether or not this health benefits would lead fall prevention will require further study.

Citations

• A trend of Tai Chi in osteoporosis research: A bibliometric analysis
  Libing Liang, Mingyue Zhang, Kunpeng Li, Jianmiao Hou, Caiqin Wu
  Complementary Therapies in Medicine.2024; 86: 103083.     CrossRef
• Effects of 12-week Tai Chi program on physical function, depression, and quality of life among cognitively impaired older adults: a feasibility study
  Hyunkyoung Oh, Rhayun Song, Seon Joo Kim
  BMC Geriatrics.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• The Effects of Tai Chi Chuan Exercise Training on the Lower Extremities of Middle-Aged and Elderly
  Bo-Jen Ko, Ting-Ting Lee, Tai-Yen Hsu, Chen-Fu Huang
  Applied Sciences.2022; 12(9): 4460.     CrossRef
• The effects of tai chi chuan exercise training on countermovement jump performance in the elderly
  Bo-Jen Ko, Tai-Yen Hsu, Chen-Fu Huang
  Research in Sports Medicine.2020; 28(4): 563.     CrossRef
• The Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Hope, Dependency, and Perceived Health Status of Elderly Women
  Yong Ju Park, Ja Ok Kim
  Journal of muscle and joint health.2014; 21(2): 106.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
The study aimed to apply Tai Chi exercise to patients with coronary artery disease for 6 months, and to examine changes on body composition, physical strength, and cardiovascular risks. METHODS: Applying a quasi experimental design with a nonequivalent control group, 90 subjects with cardiovascular disease were recruited at C university hospital. For 6 months, 44 subjects performed Tai Chi exercise once a week and daily home exercise, while 46 subjects did not. Body composition was assessed by body mass index, % body fat, and waist-hip ratio; physical strength by balance, mobility, flexibility, grip strength, and back muscle strength; and cardiovascular risk checklist for fixed and modifiable risk factors. Data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN program with ANCOVA to consider group differences at the pretest. RESULTS: The subjects were 66 years old in average. In 6 months, Tai Chi group improved significantly in balance, mobility, and flexibility with decreased modifiable cardiovascular risks after adjusting for the pretest scores. CONCLUSION: Tai Chi exercise was safely applicable to individuals with coronary artery disease, and effective in some measures of physical strength and modifiable cardiovascular risks. It could be an alternative exercise for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program in this population.

PURPOSE
This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of Tai chi exercise for improving balance and its tendency and helps to identify directions for future research. METHOD: 19 articles from Medline search of foreign journals(1981-2003) and 5 from Korean nursing journals (1981-2003) were surveyed. The contents analyses were focused on outcome measures and relative factors regarding balance. RESULT: Variable measures for balance were used in Tai Chi studies relating to balance. They included the functional measures such as 14 single-leg stance, 7 walking in physiological measures and 7 laboratory-based balance measures were done with platform stability test. The measure of effective Tai Chi exercise depended on the health status of subjects and the methods. Health status of subjects were only on physically inactive older adults in 17 articles and arthritis patients in 7 articles in the Tai Chi study. The significant effects of Tai Chi exercise on balance was revealed after 10weeks duration. CONCLUSION: Considering the results, Tai Chi exercise is more effective than any other studies for walking balance. But the reports on the outcome are inconsistent with wide variations in the choice of balance measures. It is suggested that future studies analyze systemic change through meta analysis and have a wide variety of subjects who need postural control and balance control. The methods of measures should be distinct from the balance state of subjects for the effectiveness of Tai chi exercise.