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The application of acupuncture in cardiopathy: A bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science across ten recent
Xiao Li1, Zihan Yin1,2, Fayang Ling1
1School of Acu-Mox and Tuina/The Third Teaching Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Insights
Acupuncture shows a growing research trend for treating heart conditions like high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. Future studies should explore mechanisms involving the autonomic nervous system and rostral ventrolateral medulla.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Integrative and Complementary Medicine
- Bibliometrics and Research Assessment
Background:
- Cardiopathy, a significant cause of cardiovascular disease, presents a substantial global health burden.
- Research into acupuncture for cardiopathies is expanding, necessitating a systematic overview of the field.
- No prior bibliometric analyses have comprehensively mapped the progress and key areas of acupuncture research for heart conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a bibliometric analysis of acupuncture for cardiopathies.
- To explore the current research status, identify key contributors, and map emerging hotspots.
- To provide insights into the future development of acupuncture in cardiovascular disease management.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of the Web of Science Core Collection Database (2011-2021) for acupuncture therapies targeting cardiopathies.
- Utilized CiteSpace 5.8 R3 software for bibliometric analysis, including cooperation networks and keyword co-occurrence analysis.
- Analyzed author, institution, country, journal, and keyword data to identify research trends and frontiers.
Main Results:
- A total of 321 studies were analyzed, showing a consistent annual increase in publications.
- China and the United States were the leading contributors, with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Professor Fanrong Liang as top institution and author.
- Key research frontiers identified include acupuncture for blood pressure regulation, coronary heart disease, and heart rate control, with the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) as prominent mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- The field of acupuncture for cardiopathies demonstrates a stable development trend.
- Future research should prioritize investigating acupuncture's role in hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arrhythmia.
- Mechanistic studies focusing on the RVLM and ANS are crucial for advancing acupuncture's application in cardiovascular care.
Background:
With high morbidity and mortality, cardiopathy is a major component of cardiovascular disease, causing a huge burden of disease to public health worldwide. In recent years, research on acupuncture treatment of cardiopathies has been increasing. However, no bibliometric analysis has been conducted to systematically describe the research progress and hotspots in this field. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the relevant literature to explore the current status and future development of acupuncture for cardiopathies.
Methods:
The Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection Database was searched for literature related to acupuncture therapies for cardiopathies from 2011 to 2021. Using CiteSpace 5.8 R3, cooperation network diagrams of authors, institutions, countries and journals, keyword co-occurrences, and clustering were performed and analyzed.
Results:
A total of 321 studies were included. Overall, the number of annual publications increased yearly. These publications came from 31 countries or regions, of which China and the United States made the greatest contributions. In total, 333 authors from 258 institutions participated in this field, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Professor Fanrong Liang were the most published institution and author, respectively. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine published the largest number of articles, and CIRCULATION was the most commonly cited journal. Based on co-occurrences and cluster analysis of 257 keywords, three research frontiers and hotspots were identified: acupuncture for blood pressure regulation, acupuncture for coronary heart disease, and acupuncture for regulation of heart rate. In these three research frontiers, the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) are the most popular mechanisms.
Conclusion:
A stable development trend has formed in this field. Further research should focus on the role of acupuncture therapies in the treatment of hypertension or hypertensive heart disease, coronary heart disease, and arrhythmia based on the mechanisms related to the RVLM and ANS.
