Important to know: Chronic health conditions should be addressed under direct medical supervision of your GP or consultant, and acupuncture would be an adjunct or complement to usual care – we advise that you let you doctor know when you use this approach.

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has produced an evidence based factsheet about Angina, Coronary Heart Disease, Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure including specific research, trials and mechanisms of action for acupuncture in this condition, we recommend taking a look via the underlined link above. Their Factsheet on Hypertension, High Blood Pressure may also be of interest.

Research and Resources on Arrhythmia and Heart Failure and Acupuncture:

A scholarly search of the available research studies on “acupuncture” +”arrhythmia” reveals over 7,400 papers from journals, and narrowing this to “RCT” leads to over 630 hits, of which 40% have been carried out since 2017. A scholarly search of the available research studies on “acupuncture” + “heart failure” reveals over 18,000 papers from journals, and narrowing this to “RCT” leads to over 1,700 hits, of which 52% have been carried out since 2017.  From this we can deduce that acupuncture is being used traditionally and currently in this area; scientifically researched for this, and that the pace of the research is increasing – leading us to see these as areas worthy of scientific appraisal and consideration.  

Interpreting the research:

When reading health research, it is important to know that Systematic Reviews or Meta Analyses of a large number of high-quality research studies are the very best way to be able to say to what extent a given treatment can address a condition, symptom, or set of symptoms.  The next best level of evidence is the individual Randomised Controlled Study (RCT) which uses a systematic technique to compare two or more groups of patients receiving different treatments (or a treatment against a “control”, or no treatment).  In acupuncture trials, the nature of the control group is of particular interest as it is hard to blind a patient to whether they are having a needle inserted or not, and even more challenging to blind the researcher/team to this.

The means and quality of how research is carried out varies considerably from country to country, and in terms of how an intervention is compared to another intervention (or a control).  Of note is the fact that “sham” acupuncture (where needles are placed in apparently inert locations rather than traditional acupuncture points) is not really an inert process as it has physiological effects, so that comparing sham and “true acupuncture” may therefore not give a clear picture alone; but and form a part of a research body where acupuncture versus no treatment, vs conventional treatment or vs a different approach/modality also form part of the evidence base.

The n= figure (where quoted in research) tells you how many people were participants in the study, and usually the larger a study (when it is of good quality and design), the more likely it is to be reliable and applicable to larger populations. When (statistical) “significance” is discussed in view of studies it has a very particular meaning – it is the confidence in the data (using statistical tests) that tells us how likely a result could have just come about by chance. The lower the possibility of a chance result, the more likely it is due to the intervention in the experiment. When you are reading a trial/study, the “p” is the number telling us of significance, and this must be under 5% (or p less than 0.05) to mean we can say it is a (statistically) “significant” result.

Regarding Your Individual Condition and Symptoms:

Whilst the scientific studies are of great interest to researchers and acupuncturists in terms of comparing protocols, for the patient not versed in research they are less accessible, which is why when we asked “can acupuncture work for my (condition or symptom) we are not able to give a simple yes or no response.  We are able to tell you what experience we have had in our decades of experience in practise, of the types of outcomes we have seen in similar cases, and give you an idea of our level of experience and knowledge in that area, and how this could relate to your own individual situation.  For this, we recommend booking a free telephone consultation where we can answer any questions you have and give a realistic appraisal of what acupuncture may be able to provide.

Resources:

BAcC Factsheet: Angina, Coronary Heart Disease, Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure

BAcC Factsheet: Hypertension

BAcC Factsheet: Stroke

Related pages: Hypertension/High Blood Pressure ; Stroke