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Acupuncture Doesn't Lower Blood Pressure

By Peggy Peck

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD

on Tuesday, May 25, 2004

 

May 25, 2004 (New York) -- Proponents of acupuncture say it is effective for

treating dozens of ailments including allergies, asthma, sports injuries, and

migraines, but results of new study show that acupuncture is not effective for

treating high blood pressure.

" There are studies that report about 5 billion visits to acupuncture

specialists each year. In Texas there are a number of centers that advertise

acupuncture for high blood pressure, so we decided to test the treatment in a

well-designed, scientific study, " Norman M. Kaplan, MD, clinical professor of

medicine

at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, tells WebMD.

The study was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. The results were recently

reported at the 19th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of

Hypertension in New York City.

Acupuncture's Effects Temporary

Kaplan used ambulatory blood pressure monitors that record blood pressures

around-the-clock to measure the effects of acupuncture in a group of volunteers.

Immediately after acupuncture treatment systolic blood pressure, which is the

upper number that appears first in a blood pressure measurement, dropped

slightly, " but this effect is not sustained, " Kaplan says.

Moreover, there was not even a temporary change in diastolic pressure, which

is the bottom number that is reported as the second number in a blood pressure

measurement.

Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, an assistant professor of medicine at

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, tells WebMD that

it

is difficult to draw too many conclusions from Kaplan's study because the

numbers are so small -- only 11 volunteers participated in the 4-week-long

study.

But Lloyd-Jones, who wasn't involved in the acupuncture study, says that the

" evidence from this type of intensive blood pressure monitoring is most

compelling. It demonstrates that blood pressure did not change. " Moreover, he

noted

that the study by Kaplan " is one of the first -- if not the first -- studies

to test acupuncture in a scientific manner. "

Kaplan agrees that with such small numbers the results " should not be

overinterpreted and I don't think we should make too broad an implication. But,

the

fact is that we don't have any other controlled trial data on which to make a

judgment, so I think the findings are useful. "

A Role for Acupuncture?

Researchers recruited middle-aged volunteers who had normal blood pressure or

mild high blood pressure. The average blood pressure at baseline was 135/85

mmHg.

The latest expert recommendations define high blood pressure as 140/90 or

higher, while 120/80 or less is considered optimal blood pressure. Blood

pressures that fall between 120/80 and 139/89 are now termed prehypertension,

which

indicates the need for lifestyle interventions such as weight loss, increased

exercise, and limiting salt in the diet to lower blood pressure before it

becomes hypertension.

The volunteers underwent electrical acupuncture sessions using all the blood

pressure acupuncture points identified in traditional Chinese medicine for 30

minutes, two to three times a week, for four weeks. Electrical acupuncture

needles were used and the procedure was done by a certified acupuncture

specialist.

Kaplan says that the relatively healthy population recruited for the study

could explain the lack of effect. " It may be that acupuncture is beneficial for

people who have severe high blood pressure, " he says. But he says that he

doubts the outcome would be different if the baseline blood pressures were

higher.

The real lesson from the study is that " there are good and effective

treatments for hypertension that have been proven effective in carefully

designed

studies -- treatments that range from diet and exercise to drug therapies. All

of

those standard treatments can dramatically reduce blood pressure. There is no

need to seek alternative therapies, " says Kaplan.

 

 

 

SOURCES: American Society of Hypertension 19th Annual Scientific Meeting, New

York City, May 18-22, 2004. Norman Kaplan, MD, University of Texas

Southwestern School of Medicine; author, " Lack of effect of repetitive

acupuncture on

clinic and ambulatory blood pressure, " Poster 1. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM,

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

 

 

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