Predicting Meditation Practices Among Individuals With Cardiovascular Diseases: A Logistic Regression Analysis

Purpose/Objective: Since the prevalence and cost of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are high in the United States, research on affordable preventative and treatment approaches is needed. While meditation shows promise for heart-health promotion, there is little knowledge about its use among people with CVD and factors that may influence its usage. In response, the purposes of the current research are to (a) shed light on the proportion of people with CVD who practice meditation; and (b) reveal variables that predict the use of meditation among them. Research Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey. A total of 4,197 data entries (respondents with CVD) were included for analysis, and both descriptive and logistic regression analysis results were reported. Results: Approximately 16% of respondents with CVD practiced meditation. Among them, many used spiritual (82.5%) meditation, followed by mindfulness (29.9%), and mantra (24.9%) meditation. Females (odds ratio [OR] = 1.69), those advised to increase physical activity (OR = 1.34), and email users (OR = 1.63) had higher odds; and those able to afford medication (OR = 0.70) or mental health care/counseling (OR = 0.46) had lower odds to use meditation compared to respective counterparts. Conclusions/Implications: There is a significant proportion of people with CVD who used meditation practices, especially spiritual meditations. However, more research is needed to reveal the determinants of meditation use among people with CVD to facilitate their heart-health-self-care.