San Francisco Acupuncture for High Blood Pressure - Kristen Sparrow, M.D. Many patients cannot tolerate antihypertensive medications due to their side effects. Increasingly patients are seeking help in controlling their blood pressure with acupuncture. In Chinese medicine elevated blood pressure didn't exist as a condition since blood pressure readings were not available. But many of the symptoms of extremely high blood pressure are described in Chinese Medicine and inform the treatment strategies used to decrease blood pressure.

Evidence:

There is a recent German study published in the medical journal "Circulation" showing that acupuncture is effective in lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure using acupuncture. They compared the treatment group to another group receiving sham acupuncture (1).

Science:

In determining the physiological mechanisms involved in the anti-hypertensive effects, scientists at UC Irvine (2) were able to block the anti-hypertensive effect of acupuncture by microinjecting kainic acid to deactivate neurons in the arcuate nucleus which decreased the ventrolateral periaqueductal grey responses to splanchnic nerve stimulation. These results suggest that excitatory projections from the arcuate nucleus to the ventrolateral periaqueductal grey are essential to the electroacupuncture inhibition of the reflex increase in blood pressure induced by splanchnic nerve gallbladder visceral afferent stimulation.

The same group had shown in a previous study that acupuncture's blood pressure reducing effect was in part mediated by endogenous opiods in the spinal cord (3).

Please call (415) 775-0117 or click here to request a personal consultation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Circulation. 2007 Jun 19;115(24):3121-9. Randomized trial of acupuncture to lower blood pressure.

2. 1: *Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2006 Jun;290(6):H2535-42. Excitatory projections from arcuate nucleus to ventrolateral periaqueductal gray in electroacupuncture inhibition of cardiovascular reflexes.

3. J Appl Physiol. 2006 Mar;100(3):926-32. Modulation of cardiovascular excitatory responses in rats by transcutaneous magnetic stimulation: role of the spinal cord.

Contact, Hours and Locations | Links | Site Map

Kristen Sparrow, M.D. provides the highest level of acupuncture treatments for conditions such as stress, asthma, high blood pressure, bowel problems, osteoarthritis and more, as well as acupuncture care to promote longevity, facial rejuvenation and overall good health.