CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON ACUPUNCTURE FOR TREATMENT OF ARRHYTHMIA IN 160 CASES

Gao Zhenwu, Yu Xiaozhen, Shen Aixue, Qiu )ihua, Bao Li'en, Hu Zhonggen, Lin Xiuchun

(Institute of Acupuncture, Zhejiang College of TCM, Hangzhou)

Altogether 160 cases of arrhythmia were treated, of which 102 were male and 58 female. The youngest patient was 17 years old and the oldest 82, Most of them were workers. The patients had flustered, short of breath, oppressed feeling in chest, chest pain or subjective vertigo and tiredness. They called on our clinic due to less effect in taking medicine.

Method of treatment:

This treatment had been used when the patient came to our clinic to take a rest for half-hour and then giving him a check-up with electrocardiogram to be diagnosed for arrhythmia.

Points Neiguan, Shenmen, Jiaji (thoracic vertebra 4-5); 2 of the 3 points were selected each time, for patient with bradycardia plus Suliao or Lieque, with marked chest pain plus Tanzhong, with insomnia plus Anmian or Sanyinjiao, with hypertension plus Taichong or Taixl, with functional disturbance of spleen-stomach plus Pishu and Zusanli.

Manipulation: The patients were in supination position. The needles No. 30-34 and 1.5 cun in length were used and the needling method was applied mainly with reinforcing or normal reinforcing and normal reducing methods. The needle was internally manipulated and retained in place for 5-20 minutes. For bradycardia the time of retaining needle was short and added with warm moxibustion, for intolerance of cold and marked chest pain, added warm moxibustion after acupuncture. The patients were treated once daily or every other day, 10 sessions constituted a course.

Effective standard:

Marked effect: Subjective symptoms were disappeared or basically disappeared. Pulse auscultation of heart and check of electrocardiogram showed normal or basically normal. Improvement: The symptoms and ECG record showed improved. No effect: The symptoms and ECG record had no any changes. Effect of acupuncture:

1. Immediate effect: During acupuncture or after taken needle out, the patient's subjective symptoms dismissed. The check of electrocardiogram showed marked improvement even to normal.

2. Gradual effect: In accordance with the time the patient's condition gradually took a favourable turn and the effect was steady day by day until normal.

Analysis of curative effect:

In 160 cases of arrythmia, 144 with disorder of excitative origin, of which 83 showed marked effect, 38 improvement, 23 failed to respond to treatment, the effective rate was 84%. 16 were in disorder of excitative transmission, effective rate 19%.

On the analysis of the pathogeny, 22 with coronary heart disease or dubious treated by acupuncture, the effective rate was 86.4%; 11 with hypertension showed effective rate 91%;

15 with rheumatic heart disease showed effective rate 66.6%; 75 with neurofunctional disturbance or unknown cause showed effective rate 84%; and there were some cases caused by myocarditis, or myocardosis, pulmonary cardiopathy, disturbance of serum dielectric, toxicoreaction of digitalis etc., but the cases were less.

105 of 144 cases with disturbance of agitate were below 50 years old, the effective rate was 88.5%; ages over 51 years old showed effective rate 71.8%, Duration of illness below 3 years was 72 cases, effective rate 93%; 34 cases of the duration of illness from 3 to 5 years showed effective rate 88.2%; 38 cases from 5-20 years, effective rate 61%.