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Acupuncture therapy for angina pectoris: a systematic review
Ji Chen1, Yulan Ren, Yong Tang
1Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, Sichuan, China.
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine = Chung I Tsa Chih Ying Wen Pan
|February 23, 2013
Summary
Acupuncture combined with conventional drugs significantly reduces acute myocardial infarction and improves angina symptoms and ECG readings. However, acupuncture alone has a delayed onset, making it unsuitable for emergency treatment.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Cardiology
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Background:
- Angina pectoris is a common cardiovascular condition requiring effective treatment.
- Acupuncture is a therapeutic modality with potential benefits for cardiovascular health.
- Assessing acupuncture's efficacy in angina management is crucial for evidence-based practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for angina pectoris.
- To synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture's impact on angina symptoms, electrocardiography (ECG), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Main Methods:
- Systematic search of multiple databases for RCTs on acupuncture for angina pectoris.
- Data extraction based on predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- Meta-analysis using Revman 5.1 to synthesize main outcomes.
Main Results:
- Acupuncture combined with conventional drugs (ACCD) significantly reduced AMI incidence (OR = 0.18) and improved angina symptoms (OR = 4.23) and ECG (OR = 2.61) compared to conventional drugs alone.
- Acupuncture monotherapy also improved angina symptoms (OR = 3.59) and ECG (OR = 3.07).
- ACCD shortened the time to angina relief (WMD = -1.40), but acupuncture alone showed a longer onset time (WMD = 2.43).
Conclusions:
- ACCD effectively reduces AMI occurrence and alleviates angina symptoms and improves ECG.
- Acupuncture monotherapy also shows benefits for angina symptoms and ECG.
- Acupuncture's delayed onset makes it unsuitable for acute cardiac emergencies.
- Further high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these findings due to the current evidence's limitations.
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