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Tuesday 27 October 2015

Beneficial and adverse effects of electro-acupuncture assessed in the canine chronic atrio-ventricular block model having severe hypertension and chronic heart failure

Volume 40, Issue 2, 2015, Pages 87-99


Faculty of Medicine, Toho University, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Ning University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China

Abstract

Regarding the effects of electro-acupuncture for severe hypertension, we assessed its acute cardiovascular consequences with 4 subjects of the chronic atrioventricular block dogs having severe hypertension and chronic heart failure. The electro-acupuncture consisting of 2 mA at 2 Hz frequency was carried out for 30 mm at Renying (ST-9) and Taichong (LR-3) every other day. Seven sessions were performed within 2 weeks. In the 1st and 7th sessions, the animals were anesthetized with pentobarbital to analyze the effects of the electro-acupuncture on cardiovascular variables. No significant change was detected in any of the basal control values of the cardiohemodynamic or electrophysiological variables between the 1st and 7th sessions. During the 1st session, electo-acupuncture produced a peak increase in mean blood pressure by 8.7% at 35 mm (p<0.05), whereas during the 7th session the peak increase was 6.5% at 35 mm (p=0.06). There was no significant change in the cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, a product of the heart rate and systolic blood pressure (=double product) reflecting myocardial oxygen consumption, QRS width or QT interval during the electrical stimulation in the 1St or 7th session. The results suggest that electroacupuncture may not exert lethal adverse effect except the vasopressor response, but that it can decrease the treatment-induced sympathetic response including vasopressor reaction and tachycardia. Since electro-acupuncture may have some potential to induce hypertensive crisis at the beginning, clinicians have to pay attention on its use for patients with hypertension. Copyright © 2015 Cognizant Communication Corp. Printed in the USA.

Author keywords

Atrio-ventricular block; Blood pressure; Electro-acupuncture; Electrocardiogram; Heart rate; Safety assessment; Severe hypertension

Indexed keywords

EMTREE medical terms: acupuncture; adverse effects; animal; atrioventricular block; blood pressure; chronic disease; complication; disease model; dog; electroacupuncture; female; heart failure; heart output; human; hypertension; male; pathophysiology; vascular resistance
MeSH: Acupuncture Points; Animals; Atrioventricular Block; Blood Pressure; Cardiac Output; Chronic Disease; Disease Models, Animal; Dogs; Electroacupuncture; Female; Heart Failure; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Vascular Resistance
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.
ISSN: 03601293 CODEN: AEREDSource Type: Journal Original language: English
PubMed ID: 26369252Document Type: Article
Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation