Acupuncture for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review

Publication date: Available online 27 July 2018Source: Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian StudiesAuthor(s): Rodrigo de Lima Pimentel, Alice Pereira Duque, Beatriz Robert Moreira, Luiz Fernando RodriguesAbstractAcupuncture, for the westerns countries, is an innovative and low-cost therapy for treatment and prevention of CVDs. However, most of its effects and mechanisms are poorly understood. Thus, the objective of this work was to systematically review the literature regarding the clinical effects of acupuncture for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). A search for papers published, in English or Portuguese ​​in the past 20 years, was conducted at PubMed, SciELO, and PEDro databases. Clinical trials conducted on the effects of acupuncture were included in this review. Two reviewers extracted the data independently remaining seventeen articles after screening. The most used acupoint was PC6 (10 studies, 64.7%), followed by ST36 (6 studies, 35.3%), and auricular acupoints (4 studies, 23.5%). Among the clinical applications, hypertension was the most studied CVD, with acupuncture being the most reported method among the studies (70.6%). Only 3 articles reported no benefit in the treatment of CVDs for the methodology used. We conclude that, although several studies indicated an improvement in the response of the cardiovascular system in CVDs by acupuncture, EA, or electrostimulation treatment, the heterogeneity of the studies does not allow a standa...
Source: Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies - Category: Complementary Medicine Source Type: research