Acupunctural Treatment for Hypertension / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

We have twice previously reported the results of our preliminary investigation regarding patients with hypertension. Recently, the focus of our interest has been on the blood pressure levels at the time of the third sound of korotkoff. We reported our findings regarding this topic in an oral presentation titled “Evaluation of acupunctural treatment in hypertensive patients” at the 9th Annual Central Japan Block Meeting of the Japanese Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy.<br>Since then, we have accumulated further clinical experience regarding hypertensive patients. In this study, we investigated the third sound of korotkoff in patients diagnosed as borderline hypertension according to the WHO criteria for hypertension. The blood pressure during the third sound of korotkoff ranged from 100mmHg to 110mmHg in our patients. This difference in blood pressure noted during the decreasing phase of the blood pressure cycle may serve as a useful prognostic indicator in hypertensive patients.