Comparison of the Therapeutic Effects of Acupuncture at PC6 and ST36 for Chronic Myocardial Ischemia

We aimed to compare the differences of the effects on chronic myocardial ischemia (MI) of acupuncture at PC6 and ST36. The chronic MI model of minipigs was created by implanting an Ameroid constrictor on the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and then two weeks' acupuncture was stimulated at PC6 or ST36, respectively. The results showed that both acupoints' stimulation decreased the serous cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and ischemia modified albumin (IMA) significantly and improved the ischemic ECG changes. The amplitude of pathological Q wave in the PC6 group decreased more significantly than that of the ST36 group. The cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) results showed that the decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was not improved obviously in both groups. The left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) enlarged progressively even after acupuncture. The left ventricular wall mass (LVWM) in the ST36 group increased more obviously than that of the PC6 group, which paralleled the decreasing angiotensin II (Ang II) concentration in the plasma. These results suggested that acupuncture at PC6 or ST36 was effective for protecting the myocardium from chronic ischemic injury, and the effect of PC6 seemed to be better.