Meditation refers to a family of practices that may share many similarities, but can have differences in underlying
methods and goals. Religious and spiritual associations are common but are not requisite for meditation
practice and it should be recognized that the basis of many if not all practices is the training of the brain and
body, a process that appears to have profound effects on both structure and function. In recent decades there
has been interest regarding the effects of these ancient practices on the cardiovascular system, as meditation
has intuitive appeal for benefit in this area. Though there is a relative shortage of quality data, available
evidence suggests that meditation may exert beneficial effects on autonomic tone, autonomic reflexes, and
decrease blood pressure acutely and after long term practice. In addition, meditation has the potential to
positively influence the cardiovascular system through the mind–heart connection and the anti-inflammatory
reflex. There is limited but promising data to suggest that meditation based interventions can have benefi-
cial effects on patients with established cardiovascular disease. More high quality and unbiased studies
of meditation practices on relevant endpoints in cardiovascular disease are needed, including the effects
of such practices on inflammation, baseline heart rate variability, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, and
cardiovascular mortality.