TITLE:
Blood Pressure Balance as a Marker for Early Detection of Cerebral Infarction and a Criterion for Inclusion/Exclusion from Acupuncture Treatment
AUTHORS:
Mayumi Watanabe, Yoshinobu Nakamura, Chikako Tomiyama, Nozomu Mandai, Hanaa Yousef Bakir, Tokimasa Takeda
KEYWORDS:
Acupuncture, Aged, Blood Pressure, Balance, Cerebral Infarction, Preventative Medicine
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.13 No.8,
August
27,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Early detection of cerebral infarction (CI) by home acupuncturists might be helpful in reducing stroke mortality. We compared vital signs of patients who developed CI and those who did not to ascertain if blood pressure balance is a useful marker for the early detection of CI and for distinguishing cases with potentially effective/ineffective acupuncture treatment. Methods: In this retrospective study, vital signs such as body temperature, pulse, and blood pressure, were simultaneously obtained from the right and left arms of patients who received weekly acupuncture treatment. We focused on the differences between values obtained from the right and left arms (the balance) and compared the values of patients who developed CI [CI (+)] (n = 18) and those of age-/gender-matched patients who did not [CI (−)] (n = 18). Results: Left/right blood pressure was significantly more unbalanced in the CI (+) group than in the CI (−) group, especially immediately before the onset of CI. Moreover, all CIs occurred on the side with a lower blood pressure. Discussion and Conclusions: Blood pressure balance might aid in the early detection of CI and to determine whether treatment with traditional or modern medicine is more appropriate. Acupuncture may thus help maintain patients’ quality of life.