Health Care : Current Reviews

Acupuncture lowers blood pressure in mild hypertension patients: A randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded pilot trial

4^th Global Summit on Healthcare

November 09-10, 2015 Dubai, UAE

Yan Liu1,2, Ji-Eun Park2, Kyung-Min Shin2, Ae-Ran Kim2, So-Young Jung2, Kwon O Sang2 and Sun-Mi Choi1,2

1Korea University of Science and Technology, South Korea
2Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, South Korea

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Health Care: Current Reviews

Abstract:

Objectives: To preliminarily assess the effects of acupuncture on pre-hypertension and stage I hypertension and to provide data for further research. Design: A randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded study with an 8-week intervention period and a 4-week follow-up. Interventions: Participants were patients with systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 120�??159 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 80�??99 mm Hg. Thirty participants were allocated to acupuncture group or untreated control group at a 1:1 ratio. The acupuncture group received standard acupuncture twice weekly for 8 weeks and was followed-up for 4 weeks after treatment; the control group did not receive any type of anti-hypertensive treatment for 12 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measure was SBP and DBP at post-treatment. The secondary outcomes were SBP and DBP at follow-up; Euro Quality of life (EQ-5D), heart rate variability (HRV), body-mass index (BMI) and blood lipid profile. Results: DBP (�??5.7 mmHg; P=0.025), but not SBP (�??6.0 mmHg; P=0.123), was significantly different between groups at posttreatment. Both DBP (�??7.8 mmHg; P=0.004) and SBP (�??8.6 mmHg; P=0.031) were significantly different at follow-up. Among the HRV indices, only high frequency power was significantly different between groups at weeks 4 and 8 (P=0.047 and P=0.030, respectively). There were no differences between groups in EQ-5D, BMI or lipid profile. Conclusion: The results of this study show that acupuncture might lower blood pressure in pre-hypertension and stage I hypertension and further RCT need 97 participants in each group. The effect of acupuncture on pre-hypertension and mild hypertension should be confirmed in larger studies.

Biography :

Yan Liu is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor. She has completed her Master’s degree from Changchun University of Traditonal Chinese Medicine and PhD from Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. She works in China Academy of Chinese Medical Science and take part in Clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine.

Email: liuyandoc@gmail.com