A naturalistic study of the effect of acupuncture on heart-rate variability.
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of acupuncture on heart rate variability (HRV) by using linear and non-linear methods of analysis.


METHODS
40 patients were recruited consecutively, including patients with insomnia, stomachache, diarrhea, dizziness, cervical syndrome, lower back pain, gonarthritis, peripheral facial paralysis, post-traumatic organic brain syndrome and urinary retention. Different acupoint prescriptions were used, according to the textbook for 5-years' education on traditional Chinese medicine specialty, which is used in Chinese Universities. HRV was recorded before, during, and after acupuncture.


RESULTS
Acupuncture substantially reduced variability, causing a 41% reduction in the standard deviation. Using a Fourier analysis, the variances both in the low frequency (LF) and the high frequency (HF) ranges were markedly reduced, but the LF/HF ratio (an indication of sympatho-vagal balance) was not altered. The HR was unchanged. The sample entropy, which is a measure of the complexity of time series, was significantly increased (+35%).


CONCLUSIONS
Acupuncture produced a pattern of changes different from that seen in pathological conditions, where increased variability and reduced complexity is expected.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Section for Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Norway.
Ole Bernt
OB
Fasmer
Hanbo
H
Liao
Yong
Y
Huang
Jan Øystein
JØ
Berle
Junxian
J
Wu
Ketil Joachim
KJ
Oedegaard
Gustav
G
Wik
Zhangjin
Z
Zhang
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D019277:Entropy; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult