ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the influence of acupuncture point massage combined with limb function exercise on ankle brachial index (ABI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods According to scores by grace score scale, 180 CHD patients were divided into three groups: low risk group (n=58), moderate risk group (n=68) and high risk group (n=54). Within the three groups, the patients were divided into the experiment group and the control group by using the random digital table. The control group was treated with routine nursing intervention , while the experiment groups accepted acupuncture point massage and limb function exercise training on the basis of control groups. We collected the values of ABI and PWV at four points-in-time: before intervention, 7 days after intervention, 30 days after intervention and 90 days after intervention. Results Repeated measurement data analysis of the experiment group and control group suggested that:in the moderate and high risk groups, there was statistically significant difference (P 0.05) in time and group interaction effect. The difference between the experiment group and control group was statistically significant (P0.05) in ABI&PWV interaction effect at the four time points between the experiment group and control group. In the low-risk group,the differences in time points compared with the main effect were insignificant (all P>0.05). In comparison of main effect at all the four time points, there was significant different in the moderate and high risk group (P0.05) of ABI&PWV before and 90-days after intervention. Conclusion Acupuncture point massage combined with limb function exercise can effectively improve the peripheral artery blood supply in CHD patients, lower ABI and promote PWV.