Effect of acupuncture at Nei-Kuan on left ventricular function in patientswith coronary artery disease

Effect of acupuncture at Nei-Kuan (EH-6) on left ventricular ejection fract ion (LVEF) was examined in 22 patients with angiographically proved coronar y artery disease (CAD) and 22 normal subjects. Serial equilibrium radionucl ide angiography was done to measure LVEF at 4 different times (at baseline, at 1 to 15 minutes, and 16 to 30 minutes during acupuncture, and immediate ly after acupuncture). One week later, each patient had an identical imagin g protocol with acupuncture performed at a dummy point. Our results showed that in normal subjects, the mean values of LVEF did not change significant ly during or after acupuncture. In contrast, in patients with CAD, the mean values of LVEF in the initial 15 minutes of acupuncture significantly incr eased from baseline (42.5 +/- 15.6% vs. 40.6 +/- 15.4%, p<0.05). The increa se persisted through the next 15 minutes of acupuncture and 15 minutes afte r acupuncture, but became insignificant at one week. Thus, acupuncture at N ei-Kuan can temporarily improve LV function in patients with CAD.