Acupuncture therapy related cardiac injury.

Author: Li XF, Wang X.
Affiliation: Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100700, China.
Conference/Journal: Chin J Integr Med.
Date published: 2013 Jun 5
Other: Word Count: 87



Cardiac injury is the most serious adverse event in acupuncture therapy. The causes include needling chest points near the heart, the cardiac enlargement and pericardial effusion that will enlarge the projected area on the body surface and make the proper depth of needling shorter, and the incorrect needling method of the points. Therefore, acupuncture practitioners must be familiar with the points of the heart projected area on the chest and the correct needling methods in order to reduce the risk of acupuncture therapy related cardiac injury.
PMID: 23739993