Acupuncture Used to Regain Homeostasis in Acute Cardiac Cases

Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine and other techniques, is often used for a wide range of cardiac and circulatory issues.  These treatments may be in addition to western medicine or in the absence of it depending on the patient and the overall condition.  What is less common, at least in countries with weak integration between western and eastern approaches, is using acupuncture with very acute cases.  What follows is an exploration of a interesting case study by researchers from various departments within Claretiano University in São Paulo, Brazil.

In this study the practitioners used two acupuncture points known to have a calming effect on the nervous system and cardiovascular symptoms like arrhythmia, palpitations, fainting, etc.

• Yintang - an extra point between the eyebrows. Generally used for calming the patient, issues such as insomnia and anxiety, as well as frontal headaches and/or sinus issues.
• CV 24 - located below the bottom lip.  Used for facial pain issues, such as bells palsy, speech and dental issues, but affects the vagus nerve functions among others in the area which can have widespread effects in the area.

The patient in this case study had an elaborate health history - multiple heart attacks, angioplasty and other procedures in her history.  At this time the patient was experiencing rapid heart beats, hypertension, precordial pain and other cardiovascular signs.  Upon admittance to the hospital the researchers needled yintang and used acupressure at CV 24 for 20 minutes.

Even with such an unstable case in an acute situation they found that "a combination of CV 24 and YinTang acupoints had an immediate effect on the autonomic nervous system and on maintaining homeostasis and energy balance in the body".  While this particular patient was still admitted into the ER, other patients with more average histories and/or mild symptoms may be able to use those points to help themselves, or have others help them, during acute episodes.

While this is a brief single case study, it is important to keep in mind the strong immediate effects acupuncture can have on the body.  While we as practitioners are often far more interested in treating deeply and broadly working to resolve the causal issues over time as much as possible.  Emergency techniques still may be useful at times.