Biomedical Teleacupuncture between China and Austria Using Heart Rate Variability—Part 2: Patients with Depression

It has been shown in previous studies that the autonomic nervous system can be affected by acupuncture. Within this study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for quantifying the effects of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in 33 Chinese patients (27 females, 6 males; mean age ± SD 49.5 ± 13.1 years; range 22–72 years) suffering from depression. Electrocardiographic signals before, during, and after acupuncture at the acupoint Baihui (GV20) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain. Mean HR decreased significantly (P < 0.05) during and after acupuncture, whereas total HRV increased significantly after the third acupuncture stimulation period (P < 0.05) and also 5–10 minutes after (P < 0.05) acupuncture. The study shows that HRV could be a useful parameter for quantifying clinical effects of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system.