క్లినికల్ & ప్రయోగాత్మక కార్డియాలజీ
అందరికి ప్రవేశం
ISSN: 2155-9880
ISSN: 2155-9880
Lei Wang, Ning Zhang, Huaping Pan, Zun Wang and Zhenyu Cao
Objectives: The goal of this study is to determine whether a combination therapy of electro-acupuncture and aerobic exercise are effective at improving heart rate recovery and physical ability in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Additionally, this study aims to analyse how acupuncture improves cardiovascular function.
Methods: 108 patients diagnosed with CHD and abnormal heart rate recoveries (HRR) were recruited to the study. All subjects were randomly divided into a control group, receiving no intervention, or one of three experimental groups:aerobic exercise therapy, electro-acupuncture therapy, and a combination therapy of electro-acupuncture and aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise was performed at an intensity of 60%-75% of maximum sports ability for 30 minutes per session. Acupoints Neiguan (PC6) and Ximen (PC4) were used for acupuncture in the electroacupuncture experiments for 30 min sessions. Each treatment group underwent the experimental therapies five times a week for twelve weeks. For all subjects, a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) was used to assess HRR and exercise ability. Heart rate variability (HRV), including low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), a low frequency to high frequency ratio (LF/HF) and standard deviation of normal-to-normal interval (SDNN), was used to evaluate autonomic nervous function. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO), and lipid peroxide (LOOH) in venous blood were evaluated to determine oxidative stress levels.
Results: There was no significant difference among any of the groups before treatment for any of the indices measured. After twelve weeks, the HRR in the combination therapy group was lower than any other treatment group or the control group (p<0.05). The HRR in the electro-acupuncture group was lower than the aerobic exercise and the control groups (p<0.05) and the HRR of the aerobic exercise group was lower than the control group (p<0.05). Oxidative stress levels and heart rate variability measurements for the combination group were significantly improved over all the other groups.
Conclusions: Compared to aerobic exercise treatment or electro-acupuncture treatment alone, the combined treatment method improved heart rate recovery and exercise ability most significantly. Furthermore, the autonomic nervous function and oxidative stress level were markedly improved as well. Overall, we show that a combination therapy of electro-acupuncture and aerobic exercise can improve HRR, HRV, and oxidative stress on the heart, improving the physical ability of patients with coronary heart disease.