Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago received a $3.12 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether acupuncture can relieve chest pain caused by stable angina. Stable angina, defined as predictable chest pain on exertion or under mental or emotional stress, is a condition that affects millions of Americans.
Many studies have shown that acupuncture can help relieve many types of chronic pain. However, little is known about its effect on ischemic pain, which occurs when the heart does not receive enough oxygen, as in stable angina.
The research at the two sites will be led by Judith Schrager, associate professor in the College of Nursing, and Holly Devon, professor emeritus in the College of Nursing, professor and Audrienne Endowed Research Chair at UCLA, as principal investigators. Dr. Joanne Briller, a cardiologist and professor of clinical medicine in the School of Medicine, is a co-investigator and content expert.
In an earlier pilot study, the team found that acupuncture reduced participants’ pain and improved their quality of life.
Chest pain from stable angina is often caused by a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries, which reduces blood flow to the heart, Brier explained. However, many people with stable angina have angina for other reasons, such as when the small arteries that carry blood to the tissues malfunction and don’t get enough oxygen. Treatment of these patients with therapies aimed at relieving cholesterol blockages is often ineffective and they are left with flare-ups of debilitating chest pain.
The idea of using acupuncture is very novel and would be great if it worked. ”
Dr. Joan Briller, Cardiologist and Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine
Chest pain from angina significantly reduces quality of life, causing people to avoid physical activity and potentially stressful situations.
“Whatever the cause, chronic pain can be debilitating and exhausting,” Devon said. In addition to the patients Briller and Schrager recruited at UIC, Devon plans to recruit patients at UCLA. “We are excited to be able to offer an alternative for patients whose pain has not been completely relieved by drug therapy.”
Schrager said there is a wide disparity in access to acupuncture in this country because acupuncturists tend to practice in wealthy areas and treatments are expensive. Many of the study participants will be from medically underrepresented groups who will be receiving acupuncture for the first time, as was the case in the pilot study.
“Study participants were really happy to be offered an intervention they had heard of but didn’t have access to,” Schrager said.
A grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research is funding the four-year study. The study will enroll 112 participants who have been diagnosed with stable angina, have symptoms at least once a week, and are receiving pain treatment for at least an extended period of time. Month. Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive acupuncture twice a week for five weeks or watch TED talk videos for about two hours each week for five weeks. They will then be followed for three months to determine how long the acupuncture treatment is effective in reducing pain. Participants will be surveyed about pain levels, symptom control, quality of life, and other health indicators throughout the study.
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University of Illinois at Chicago
