CLINICAL RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
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Salons 10-12.
THURSDAY, 10:15-11:00 AM
Paul-Labrador MJ, Polk D, Kirschner J, Qiao Y, Xuling
Ma, Velasquez I, Bairey CN.
Traditional acupuncture improves heart rate variability
in coronary artery disease subjects: a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center paul@cshs.org
PURPOSE: Preliminary evidence suggests that
traditional acupuncture (TA) can reduce acute cardiac events in patients
with established coronary artery disease, possibly through modification
of the sympathetic nervous system. For this reason, we conducted a pilot
study to determine the feasibility of testing TA vs. placebo acupuncture
on cardiac autonomic nervous system function as measured by heart rate
variability (HRV), and endothelial function, as measured by brachial
artery reactivity function (BART).
METHODS: A total of 17 subjects with clinically
confirmed, stable CAD were randomized to a 4-week intervention of either
TA or placebo acupuncture. BART, 24-hour Holter monitoring with two
2-minute stress provocations (math test and cold pressor), and fasting
lipoprotein profile were measured at entry and exit, while subject perception
of treatment assignment was assessed at exit. Fisher's Exact Test, Wilcoxon
rank sum and signed rank tests were used to test for differences between
and within the two groups.
RESULTS: Demographics, cardiac risk factors,
lipid levels, BART, and HRV variables did not differ between treatment
groups at entry. There was near-statistically significant improvement
in the HRV power variables with the two-minute math test stress test
in the TA, but not the placebo acupuncture group (see Table).
| HRV Variable |
TA Group |
p |
Placebo |
p |
| D Total power [ln(ms)2] |
0.5±0.2 |
0.06 |
-0.2±1.1 |
0.74 |
| D High Freq. [ln(ms)2] |
0.8±0.5 |
0.06 |
-0.4±1.2 |
0.38 |
| D Low Freq. [ln(ms)2] |
0.4±0.2 |
0.06 |
-0.6±1.7 |
0.55 |
CONCLUSIONS: A 4-week trial of traditional acupuncture
may improve cardiac autonomic nervous system function, as measured by
HRV, in CAD patients compared to placebo acupuncture. These results
support the feasibility and significance of a larger trial testing whether
traditional TA offers adjunctive benefit to CAD patients.
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