Diagnostic Validity of Āyurvedic Pulse Assessment: Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān in Cardiovascular Health

Abstract

This study is the first of its kind to systematically investigate the relationship between the clinical practice of Maharishi ᾹyurVeda pulse assessment and cardiovascular health. Given that cardiovascular disease is a major threat to the health of people in many countries, the question of diagnostic validity of a traditional, non-invasive method of health assessment is an important one for prevention and therapeutics. For this reason, we investigated the diagnostic validity of examining the pulse of patients using the technique of Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān compared to an objective measure of blood pressure and to self-reports of other cardiovascular risk factors. The study sample consisted of 160 participants at a Maharishi ᾹyurVeda clinic in the United States and assessed consistency of diagnoses between Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān and hypertension as measured by blood pressure using a standard sphygmomanometer, and patient self-reports of elevated cholesterol, insomnia, and psychological stress (operationalised in this study as 'state of mind'). Our findings showed diagnostic validity of 95% for hypertension by Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān compared to objectively measured hypertension. For elevated cholesterol, insomnia, and psychological stress, the agreement was 76%. Previous studies assessed the reliability of conventional forms of pulse examination in ᾹyurVeda and found relatively low levels of both inter-rater and within-rater reliability, whereas the present study of Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān found generally higher levels. These findings have implications for the use of Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān as a diagnostic approach in the context of holistic, integrated, and preventive healthcare offered by Maharishi ᾹyurVeda. We conclude the study with a discussion of key theoretical domains which underpin the findings, namely the traditional forms of ᾹyurVeda and Nādi-Vigyān, and the introduction of next generation Maharishi ᾹyurVeda and Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān. Finally, we consider the influence pulse assessment might have on the future of cardiovascular healthcare.

Figure 1:

Model of theory and research.

Figure 2:

The relationship of Ṛishi, Devatā, and Chhandas to themselves and in their togetherness as the Saṁhitā of Natural Law, with each element interacting with itself and with each other on the level of consciousness (left) (Maharishi, 1986, p. 40), and how this phenomenon simultaneously occurs on the level of matter, on the level of the human body and environment, as Vāta, Pitta, and Kapha (right).