Researchers conclude that acupuncture reduces the risk of coronary heart disease in patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia. A massive sample size of over 158,420 patients with fibromyalgia were included in the study. The researchers conclude that acupuncture “significantly decreased the risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] in patients with fibromyalgia with or without comorbidities.”
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 610,000 people die from heart disease in the USA annually. This accounts for 25% of all deaths. It is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
The researchers note that acupuncture decreased the risk of coronary heart disease equally for both men and women. The risk of coronary heart disease increased with the age of patients; however, acupuncture decreased risks across all age groups. In addition, acupuncture decreased the risk of coronary heart disease regardless of whether or not patients took steroid medications, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), or statins.
Patients receiving acupuncture averaged a total of 7.45 acupuncture sessions. A total of 85% of patients received manual acupuncture, 3.6% received electroacupuncture, and 10.7% received both manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments. The duration of needle retention time averaged between 20 – 30 minutes per acupuncture session. The elicitation of deqi was a basic requirement by the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctors.