Effect of Acupuncture on Patients With Mild Hypertension (EAPMH)

Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 3

Conditions: Essential Hypertension

Treatments: Other: Sham acupuncture; Other: acupuncture

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01701726

2012CB518501-1

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a large scale, open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial with four parallel arms. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of affected meridian acupuncture for patients with mild hypertension,with respect to decreasing their blood pressure, safety of acupuncture ,and improving their quality of life as well.

Full description

Investigators plan to recruit 428 hypertensive patients. Eligible patients will be randomized to four different groups.ⅰ. the affected meridian acupuncture group (AMA, n=107) will be treated with acupoints on affected meridians.ⅱ.the non-affected meridian acupuncture group (NMA, n=107) will be treated with acupoints on non-affected meridians.ⅲ.invasive sham acupuncture group(ISA, n=107)will be provided with sham acupoints treatment.ⅳ.waiting-list group(WL, n=107)will not be given any intervention.

Enrollment: 400 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria：

1. Patients whose age between 40 and 75 years old, male and female;
2. Patients who meet the diagnostic criteria of mild hypertension according to JNC-7 and China's prevention and cure guide of hypertension. mild hypertension (WHO/ISH criteria stage I) Systolic blood pressure 159≥(SBP) ≥140 and/or diastolic blood pressure 99≥(DBP) ≥90 .
3. Patients who are initially diagnosed as mild hypertension or have been diagnosed as mild hypertension before but have not taken any antihypertensive drugs.
4. Patients who are diagnosed as yue-yin style (yin-deficiency accompany with hyperactivity of yang) or yang-ming style (obstruction of phlegm and dampness) according to meridian syndrome differentiation
5. Patients who have a good understanding of our study. and willing to comply with our study protocol.
6. Informed consent form must be signed by patient or lineal relative.
7. All the tips are matched will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients who have been diagnosed as secondary hypertension or malignant hypertension(e.g. Cushing's syndrome, coarctation of the aorta，phaeochromocytoma, renal parenchymal disease，primary aldosteronism， renovascular hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea，drug induced hypertension et al )
2. Patients who accompany with other severe medical conditions (e.g. endocrine disorders, cardiovascular disease. Digestive disease. hepatic dysfunction，cerebral vascular disease. renal disease. haematologic disease et al). Who may be not safe to join our study.
3. Patients with a chronic disease which might not suitable for our study. e.g: epilepsy ,severe depression or anxiety (SAS≥70,SDS≥70) ,psychosis, allergic constitution, accompany with any infection.
4. Pregnant women or women in lactation or women of child bearing potential plan to conceive in the recent six months.
5. Patients who currently participate in another clinical trial.
6. Patients who Had been treated with acupuncture during the previous three months
7. If one of the tips mentioned above is matched will be excluded.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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400 participants in 3 patient groups

Acupuncture

Experimental group

Description:

Two types of acupuncture are given, one is acupuncture at affected meridian points, the other is at non-affected. For the first type, We select the acupoints from the affected meridians.Patients in this group are divided into two subgroups according meridian syndrome differentiation(jue-yin style,yang-ming style).Patients pertaining to Jue-yin-style are treated with taichong (LR3), renying(ST9), taixi(KI3), neiguan(PC6) .Patients pertaining to Yang-ming-style: taichong(LR3), renying(ST9), zusanli(ST36), quchi(LI11). For the second,We select the acupoints from the non-affected meridians.Patients assigned into the non-affected meridian acupuncture group will be treated with Fengchi (GB20), waiguan(SJ5), yinlingquan(SP9), xuehai (SP10).

Treatment:

Other: acupuncture

Sham acupuncture

Sham Comparator group

Description:

we use sham acupoints: 1. The edge of the tibia (1-2cm lateral and horizontal to the zusanli (ST36)) 2. Half way between the tip of the elbow and the axilla 3. On the ulnar side of the arm, half way between the epicondylus medialis of the humerus and the ulnar side of the wrist. 4. 2cm superior to fu tu(LI18)

Treatment:

Other: Sham acupuncture

Waiting list

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants who will be randomized into the waiting-list group will not receive any acupuncture treatment throughout 13-week observation period. At the end of trial, if the participant would like to be treated with acupuncture, it will be provided three times weekly for 6 weeks.