Acupuncture is a useful and safe alternative treatment for cardiac arrhythmia

A systematic review of nine randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of conventional acupuncture (CA) for cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) revealed that this alternative treatment is a safe and natural way to improve heart health. These findings were published in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine.

• A comprehensive search of nine medical databases including MEDLINE (PubMed and OVID), EMBASE (OVID), the Allied and Alternative Medicine Database (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), Wanfang Database and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) was conducted until February 2016.
• Nine studies qualified the search parameters; with only one study having a definite low risk of bias, seven trials rated as “unclear,” and one noted to have a high bias.
• Meta-analysis of these studies showed that the severity of cardiac arrhythmia decreased when patients continued going to a reputable and well-trained acupuncturist.
• Results also suggested a statistically significant benefit of CA in improving heart health, as defined by having a normal sinus rhythm and a reduced risk of ventricular premature heartbeat among the patients.

It was concluded that CA may be a useful and natural way to reduce the incidence of cardiac arrhythmia in at-risk patients.

Read more stories related to heart health at Heart.news.

Journal Reference:

Liu J, Li S, Liu L, Zhou K, Li Y, Cui Z, Wan J, Lu J, Huang Y, Wang Z, Lin Q. CONVENTIONAL ACUPUNCTURE FOR CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 22 April 2017;24(3). DOI: 10.1007/s11655-017-2753-9