Effects of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines and Electroacupuncture on Experimental Myocardial Infarct Size

Abstract

BackgroundWe hypothesized that herbal therapy or electroacupuncture (EA) would reduce infarct size and ischemia‐reperfusion induced cardiac arrhythmias.MethodsAn anesthetized rat model of proximal left coronary artery occlusion (30 min) and reperfusion (180 min) was used. Infarct size (IS; triphenyltetrazolium chloride) and ischemic risk zone (blue dye technique) were assessed. In Protocol 1 rats received either saline, Dan Shen (DS) or DS+Jiangxiang (JX), starting 30 minutes before coronary occlusion. In Protocol 2, rats were either untreated, received static needle placement or EA at the PC5 and 6 acupuncture points of the forearm starting 5 minutes before occlusion.ResultsNeither treatment, herbal or EA, reduced IS expressed as a fraction of the ischemic risk zone or altered hemodynamics. Protocol 1: 0.43±0.06 in controls, 0.39±0.05 in DS and 0.42±0.04 in JX; Protocol 2: control (0.38±0.04), static needle (0.47±0.4) and EA (0.32±0.05) (p=NS). In a separate study EA failed to reduce ventricular tachycardia and VPB's. Results may be related to the absence of hemodynamic effects, a major factor underlying the reduction of experimental myocardial ischemia during EA.ConclusionOur studies do not suggest a cardioprotective effect of DS or JX or EA in experimental myocardial ischemia/reperfusion, in the absence of any significant changes in myocardial oxygen demand.