Chinese scientists have shown that acupuncture at Shenmen HE-7 can affect cardiac autonomic neural regulation in healthy subjects. One hundred and twenty subjects were divided into four groups and received four different interventions: verum acupuncture at Shenmen HE-7; non-penetrating sham acupuncture at Shenmen HE-7; verum acupuncture at a sham point; and no acupuncture. Heart rate variability (HRV), which is a measure of the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic mediators of heart rate, was recorded 10 minutes before, during and after each intervention. The results showed that, compared with sham needling and no acupuncture controls, verum acupuncture at Shenmen HE-7 increased...Weiterlesen

Acupuncture at Taichong LIV-3 leads to decreases in systolic blood pressure, which can be correlated with increases in connectivity between areas of the brain related to emotional processing and blood pressure control. Researchers from China randomly divided 30 hypertensive patients into a verum acupuncture group (needled at Taichong LIV-3) and a sham acupuncture group (needled at a non-acupuncture point on the anterior thigh). Significant differences in systolic blood pressure were found only in the verum group. Examination of fMRI scans showed that acupuncture at LIV-3 specifically increased activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, as well as functional connectivity...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT Background: Acupuncture at specific acupoints has experimentally been found to reduce chronically elevated blood pressure. Objective: To examine effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) at select acupoints to reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) in hypertensive patients. Design: Two-arm parallel study. Patients: Sixty-five hypertensive patients not receiving medication were assigned randomly to one of the two acupuncture intervention (33 versus 32 patients). Intervention: Patients were assessed with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. They were treated with 30-minutes of EA at PC 5-6+ST 36-37 or LI 6-7+GB 37-39 once weekly for 8 weeks. Four acupuncturists provided single-blinded treatment....Weiterlesen

Abstract Herbal medicines show much promise for helping patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Nao Xin Tong Nang (Brain and Heart Connected Capsule) formula with aspirin, lumbrokinase, and nattokinase are all natural anticoagulants, with varying degrees of evidence supporting their use or potential use in AF patients. The modern Chinese herbal formula Wen Xin Ke Li looks promising for maintaining sinus rhythm in paroxysmal AF patients, as does Shen Song Yang Xin Capsule. Anti-arrhythmic herbs, both for heart rate and for heart rhythm control (as well as preventing paroxysmal AF from recurring), generally usedhistorically and not studied in clinical trials but...Weiterlesen

Ein erhöhter Blutdruck steigert unter anderen das Risiko, einen Herzinfarkt oder eine Herzinsuffizienz zu erleiden. Eine randomisierte kontrollierte Studie (2015) der University of California, des East Hospitals in Shanghai und der Southern California University of Health Sciences ergab, dass die Elektroakupunktur bewährter Akupunkturpunkte den Blutdruck zuverlässig senken kann. Zusammenfassung der Studie Die Studie wurde mit 65 Patienten durchgeführt, die unter leichtem bis mittelschwerem Bluthochdruck litten, und keinerlei Blutdruckmedikamente einnahmen. Die Forscher teilten die Patienten in eine Kontrollgruppe und eine Behandlungsgruppe auf, und behandelten beide verblindet über 8 Wochen einmal wöchentlich mit Elektroakupunktur. Die Kontrollgruppe erhielt eine Sham-Akupunktur an den Punkten...Weiterlesen

A group of American researchers have found that electro-acupuncture (EA) has a significant and long-lasting blood pressure–lowering effect in hypertensive patients with chronically elevated blood pressure (BP). Sixty-five patients with mild to moderate hypertension not receiving medication were randomly assigned to one of two acupuncture interventions. They were treated once weekly for eight weeks with 30-minutes of EA at either a set of active treatment acupoints (Jianshi P-5 – Neiguan P-6, plus Zusanli ST-36 – Shangjuxu ST-37) or a set of control acupoints (Pianli L.I.-6 – Wenliu L.I.-7, plus Guangming GB-37- Xuanzhong GB-39). Patients were assessed with 24-hour ambulatory blood...Weiterlesen

Abstract Introduction and objectives. This study was designed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for arrhythmia compared to existing drug therapy. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified through searches of the MEDLINE, CNKI, Embase, and Cochrane databases (1970 through 2016) and hand searches of cross-references from original articles and reviews. Clinical trials that randomized arrhythmia patients to acupuncture therapy vs. conventional drugs, sham acupuncture, or bed rest were included for analysis. Results. A total of 13 trials with 797 patients met the criteria for analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed no statistically significant difference between acupuncture and conventional...Weiterlesen

Patients with high blood pressure who are taking anti-hypertensive medication may benefit from adjunctive acupuncture treatment, according to a small study carried out in Turkey. Investigators studied 34 patients who had been on anti-hypertensive drug therapy for at least 24 months and who were experiencing side-effects such as fatigue, dizziness, weakness, headache, joint pain, sleeping problems, oedema and depression. The participants underwent 15 acupuncture sessions (every two days for one month), without alteration to their diet, physical activity or use of anti-hypertensive drugs. Points needled were Taixi KID-3, Taichong LIV-3, Yinlingquan SP-9, Hegu L.I. 4, Shenmen HE-7, Zusanli ST-36, Sanyinjiao...Weiterlesen

An Italian team has found that acupuncture treatment prevents arrhythmic recurrences after cardioversion in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). They studied 80 patients who had persistent AF after sinus rhythm had been restored using electrical cardioversion. Twenty-six subjects who were already on amiodarone (an anti-arrhythmic drug) treatment constituted the AMIO reference group. The remaining patients were randomly allocated to receive acupuncture (ACU), sham acupuncture (ACU-sham), or neither acupuncture nor anti-arrhythmic therapy (CONTROL). Patients in the ACU and ACU-sham groups received ten weekly acupuncture sessions, using the points Neiguan P-6, Shenmen HE-7 and Xinshu BL-15. During a 12-month follow-up, AF...Weiterlesen

Quelle (16 June 2017): http://www.healthcmi.com/ Researchers conclude that acupuncture reduces hypertension and prevents brain damage due to chronic high blood pressure. A controlled laboratory investigation finds acupuncture effective for the regulation of blood pressure while simultaneously preventing excessive cell death in the brain. In a quantification of acupuncture’s effective mechanisms, researchers identified important biological responses elicited by acupuncture responsible for producing therapeutic benefits. The research team of Lu et al. identified biochemical responses elicited by the application of three acupuncture techniques. Reinforcing twirling, reducing twirling, and needle retention techniques resulted in reduced blood pressure and downregulation of cell death in...Weiterlesen