A recent study examined the effect of acupuncture on blood pressure in hypertensive patients. This study looked at hypertensive patients already on hypertensive drugs on had been in the last 24 months to see what effect acupuncture had on lowering blood pressure. The study found that acupuncture treatment produced a significant reduction in blood pressure and reduced the patients complaints. This study concluded that “acupuncture should be in the hypertension treatment guidelines and widely used for blood pressure regulation” (Cemal, 2013).

A new study has shown that acupuncture may help patients with high blood pressure lower their risk of stroke and heart disease. The study was done at the University of California Irvine and published in the Medical Acupuncture journal. Researchers found that electroacupuncture, a type of acupuncture, reduced blood pressure for up to 6 weeks for patients with hypertension. The study found that 70 percent of the patients who received the acupuncture treatment reported a significant decrease in blood pressure. The study also found the treatment helped regulate blood sugar and the hormone that regulates electrolytes.

Acupuncture & Heart Failure

With any cardiac event, they sympathetic “flight or fight” response is activated. Recent studies have looked at acupunctures effect of production and release of endogenous opioids in the central nervous system and how this could inhibit central sympathetic outflow during heart failure. This study found that, “sympathetic activation during acute mental stress was virtually eliminated after acupuncture.” This study provide insight at possible mechanisms to which acupuncture could provide benefit because of its ability to calm the sympathetic response.