Cardiovascular effects of acupuncture at Sympathetic auricular point

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to analyze the effect of acupuncture in Sympathetic auricular point on arterial pressure changes in healthy subjects. Design: A kinetics cross-sectional experimental study was conducted at Clinica de Acupuntura, Unidad Iztapalapa, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico. Participants: twenty healthy university students (four women) aged 22.8 ± 1.6 in women and 23.4 ± 2.6 in men (mean ± SD) participated in the present study to investigate the kinetics of the acute effect of acupuncture stimulation at Sympathetic auricular point on cardiovascular functioning. Interventions: The study consisted of two manual auricular acupuncture sessions in the Sympathetic point in the right or left ear. The following data for every heartbeat: Mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), heart rate (HR), and stroke volume (SV) were computed. Results: Acupuncture in the right-side Sympathetic point increase MAP and CO and reduce TPR. Otherwise, acupuncture in the left-side Sympathetic point increases CO and reduces TPR without a change in MAP. Otherwise, only the right-side Sympathetic point increases both MAP and SV. Both auricular points reduced the TPR. Conclusions: These results suggest an acute effect of manual acupuncture in Sympathetic auricular point on the cardiovascular parameters of mean arterial pressure and cardiac output. We also show that acupuncture on the right or left-side Sympathetic points have different effects. These results emphasize the importance of experimental studies on the potentially sided effects of auricular acupoints to reinforce the rational clinical application of auriculomedicine.