Acupuncture To Prevent Heart Failure

Disorders Cure

oi-Suparna Chakaraborthy

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Thursday, September 30, 2010, 12:27

Acupuncture is the process of piercing the skin with needles at specific points to treat various illness, and according to the latest finding it can also prevent heart failure. It works on the sympathetic nervous system, which causes involuntary movements such as excess palpitation and inappropriate blood pressure. Over activation of sympathetic nerves is one of the main reason for heart failures. The cure thus lies in controlling the activity of these nerves which is effectively done by Acupuncture.

It has been noticed that the sympathetic nerve is much more active in heart patients than in people with healthy heart. This exerts the weak heart to work more than it's capacity, leading to heart failure.

Dr. Holly R. Middlekauff, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, for the first time experimented Acupuncture as a treatment to prevent heart failure.

Dr. Holly along with other researchers, underwent an experiment of acupuncture on 14 heart patients. They were divided into three groups. The first group of heart patients were given acupuncture at the traditional sites. The second group of patients received it in "non-acupoint" and the third group, did not receive it at all.

Mental stress was then created on patients by giving them math problems to solve mentally and speak out the answers aloud. They were also given the colour/word test. The words were written in different colored ink and the patients were asked to tell the colour of the words.

After 20 minutes, for the first group, blood pressure and heart rate remained unaffected and the activity of the sympathetic nerve reduced. On the other hand, activity of the sympathetic nerve increased in both the non-acupoint patients and the patients who did not receive it at all.

"We need to do more studies in large patient populations and repeat the procedures over a period of weeks, rather than just once, as we did in our study. But in clinical experience, it has been used successfully and with long-range results in improving hypertension, and it may also be beneficial in lowering sympathetic nerve activity," says Dr.Holly.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.