DALLAS — Acupuncture proved effective and safe for the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension in a randomized, single-blind German clinical trial.
This form of therapy may have appeal for a segment of the population that dislikes taking medication, but it's not curative; 3 months after completion of the course of acupuncture, blood pressures (BPs) were back at baseline levels, Dr. Frank A. Flachskampf reported at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.
The trial involved 160 patients aged 45–75 years with mild to moderate, uncomplicated arterial hypertension who were randomized to a 6-week course of traditional Chinese acupuncture or to sham acupuncture. Both regimens consisted of 22 sessions of 30 minutes' duration, delivered by extensively trained Chinese acupuncturists.
Overall, 78% of study participants were on antihypertensive medication at baseline, and their dosing remained unchanged during the trial.
There were 72 patients in the acupuncture arm and 69 assigned to sham acupuncture who completed the study. Mean 24-hour ambulatory BP in the acupuncture group fell from 131/81 mm Hg at baseline to 125/78 at the end of the 6-week program. In contrast, ambulatory BP remained unchanged in the sham-therapy group, according to Dr. Flachskampf of the University of Erlangen, Germany.
Follow-up 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring conducted 3 and 6 months after completing the acupuncture showed BPs had returned to pretreatment levels.
Two patients in the acupuncture group dropped out of the study because they said acupuncture was too painful; they were the only subjects who reported any side effects.
Bruce Jancin