Some results of antihypertensive acupuncture / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

ABSTRACT

IntroductionHypertension is a major public health problem with serious medical and financial consequences. Barriers to successful conventional pharmacological treatment include the side effects, out-of-pocket expenses, patient non-compliance and insufficient dosages. The design of the Stop Hypertension with the Acupuncture Research Program (SHARP) trial balanced rigorous clinical trial methodology with principles of TCM.GoalTo treat arterial hypertension by traditional medicines and acupuncture, and determine its effectiveness.Materials and Methodsthe participants had systolic blood pressure (SBP) 140-179 mmHg and diastolic BP (DBP) 90-109 mmHg in the absence of antihypertensive therapy. Following a screening, the participants were randomly divided to one of the following two groups individualized acupuncture and standardized acupuncture. Standardized acupuncture used a pre-specified set of points. In the other group, each participant received a “prescription” for individualized acupuncture from an acupuncturist who was masked to treatment assignment, and was subsequently treated by an independent acupuncturist. Acupuncture was performed twice a week for 6 weeks.ResultsThe systolic blood pressure reduced statistically significantly through the 2nd, 4th and 6th weeks against the measurements taken at the onset of the treatment. Before the acupuncture therapy, the systolic blood pressure was 159.52 mmHg (95% CI 156.52-162.51) and it reduced to 147.62 mmHg (95% CI 147.62-154.22) in the 6th week. Before the acupuncture therapy the DBP was 98.34 mmHg (95% CI 96.77-99.91). It reduced to 92.56 mmHg (95% CI 90.80-94.31) at the 6th week. Conclusions: Acupuncture therapy reduced SBP by the mean of 8.6 mmHg and DBP by the mean of 5.78 mmHg.