Zhangjin Zhang

Publications (1)0 Total impact

• Article: A naturalistic study of the effect of acupuncture on heart-rate variability.

  Ole Bernt Fasmer, Hanbo Liao, Yong Huang, Jan Øystein Berle, Junxian Wu, Ketil Joachim Oedegaard, Gustav Wik, Zhangjin Zhang
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  ABSTRACT: To study the effect of acupuncture on heart rate variability (HRV) by using linear and non-linear methods of analysis. 40 patients were recruited consecutively, including patients with insomnia, stomachache, diarrhea, dizziness, cervical syndrome, lower back pain, gonarthritis, peripheral facial paralysis, post-traumatic organic brain syndrome and urinary retention. Different acupoint prescriptions were used, according to the textbook for 5-years' education on traditional Chinese medicine specialty, which is used in Chinese Universities. HRV was recorded before, during, and after acupuncture. Acupuncture substantially reduced variability, causing a 41% reduction in the standard deviation. Using a Fourier analysis, the variances both in the low frequency (LF) and the high frequency (HF) ranges were markedly reduced, but the LF/HF ratio (an indication of sympatho-vagal balance) was not altered. The HR was unchanged. The sample entropy, which is a measure of the complexity of time series, was significantly increased (+35%). Acupuncture produced a pattern of changes different from that seen in pathological conditions, where increased variability and reduced complexity is expected.
  Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies. 02/2012; 5(1):15-20.