Transcutaneous Electrical Acupuncture Point Stimulation Is Cardioprotective for Patients With Stable Ischemic Heart Disease

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at Neiguan and Ximen on the prognosis of patients with stable ischemic heart disease. A total of 240 patients symptomatic with suspected coronary artery disease referred for coronary angiography were analyzed, and 232 patients (62.3 ± 9.1years) with stable ischemic heart disease were included. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), defined as a composite of recurrent angina requiring hospitalization, nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic death, and death from any other causes. Over a mean follow-up of 12months, 9 patients (8.4%) in the EA treatment group and 22 patients (19.3%) in the control group occurred. Patients treated with EA had a significantly smaller risk of MACE (p=0.021), recurrence of unstable angina (p=0.033), and nonfatal myocardial infraction (p=0.038) than that of those treated without EA. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the EA and control groups began to separate at approximately 5months and continued to diverge up to study termination. Moreover, multivariate Cox analysis showed that treatment with EA was associated with decreased likelihood of MACE within 12months of follow-up. The circulating levels of cluster of differentiation 40 ligand but hypersensitive C-reactive protein were lower (166.0 ± 92.6pg/ml vs 197.3 ± 79.2pg/ml, p=0.012) in the EA group than in the control group and decreased significantly (-30.6 ± 47.2pg/ml vs -1.1 ± 50.4pg/ml, p <0.001) after 12months of treatment. EA is an effective treatment method for supporting patients with stable ischemic heart disease.