The future of post-operative heart surgery – getting patients home safely and quickly from their hospital beds – may soon begin to involve traditional oriental medicine such as acupuncture.
Inside Northwestern University’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, acupuncturist Ania Grimone inserts a needle into one of her regular patients.
“Chinese medicine has a 3,500-year history, so we have a lot of clinical experience in how to deal with heart problems,” says acupuncturist Ania Grimone.
Grimone is part of a medical team that recently published a first-of-its-kind study finding that acupuncture may help patients heal after open-heart surgery. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 2 million people worldwide undergo open-heart surgery each year.
In this clinical trial, 100 volunteer patients who underwent open heart valve surgery were divided into a control group and an acupuncture group.
The “ACU-Heart Half” received an average of four acupuncture treatments, each lasting approximately 45 minutes.
The acupuncturist inserted needles into precise areas such as the inside of the arm, wrist, and ear.
Patients reported reduced nausea, pain, and anxiety, which are typical symptoms after heart surgery.
The amount of time spent in the intensive care unit has also decreased.
One of the most interesting findings was that patients were less likely to experience common problems after surgery: rapid heart rate or arrhythmia.
“Postoperative A-FIB is an arrhythmia that can occur in about one-third of patients after open-heart surgery and can prolong hospital stay. It can increase complications such as stroke. ,” said lead researcher and cardiac psychologist Dr. Kim Feingold.
In the acupuncture group, the incidence of postoperative A-FIB was nearly 60% lower and the need for A-FIB medication when patients were discharged from the hospital was also lower.
Feingold told Scripps News that the next step is a larger study in more patients to see if acupuncture after open-heart surgery can shorten overall length of hospital stay. Ta.
But her heart is warmed by the potential it has shown so far to help patients.
