Pharmacological therapy of hypertension reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but is sometimes limited by poor patient compliance and/or side effects. Empirical clinical knowledge of acupuncture suggested that it could lower BP. Animal studies have shown that acupuncture of specific body surface points can lower systemic BP possibly through regulation of the neuroendocrine system. A pilot study using the design of randomized clinical trial (RCT) was carried out to test the potential efficacy of corporal acupuncture and auricular acupressure for the treatment of essential hypertension. 12 patients with uncontrolled stage 1 hypertension were enrolled in this prospective, single-blinded RCT, with 7 randomized to treatment group and 5 to wait-listed control group. Six sessions of acupuncture over a two weeks period, interspersed with patient self-administered acupressure, were performed in the treatment group, while patients from the control group did not receive such intervention. Mean BP in the two groups before, during and up to 4 weeks after the treatment were measured and analyzed. While mean BP did not change in the control group, statistically significant BP reduction was observed in the treatment group, with an average decline of systolic BP up to 14–15 mmHg. These results suggest that acupuncture and acupressure may be efficacious in decreasing arterial BP in hypertensive patients. Potential mechanisms of action and clinical indication of acupuncture/acupressure remain to be addressed by further studies.
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Benzhuo Lu (2000) studied this question.