acupuncture

Hello
Has anyone on here tried acupuncture for afib?
I searched it on this forum and didn't get any hits.
I just started getting it (3 treatments) and it's really too soon to tell but I think it might be helping.
I will report back after some time if it does prove to be helpful.

The acupuncturist is an older Chinese-born man and was trained in China. He says he has helped people with afib. I haven't gotten any specifics.....we have a bit of a language / cultural barrier....but he's very nice and seems very experienced, It's just hard to have a detailed conversation.

Since acupuncture works in some way on the electrical system and afib is an electrical problem....it seems possible to me that it might be a good way to work on afib. That's just my uneducated, intuitive way for looking at it.

I'm surprised that no-one on this list has tried it !
I would love to hear from anyone who has tried it or who knows anything relating to this question.

Thank you !!! Barbcat

I searched again for acupuncture and did get a few hits, but mostly it was just mentioned. I think one person had tried it for afib without success.
I also wanted to mention that I am taking a Chinese herb combination Dan Shen....Chinese Salvia.,,,given to me by the acupuncturist. It feels like they both might be helping, the herb and the acupuncture.... but like I said, it's too soon to know for sure.

I took Wenxin Keli about a year ago for several months....it's supposed to be a state approved medicine in China for afib. It didn't help me at all.

I don't take any meds so there's no issue with contra-indications with these Chinese herbs....but I think there could be if a person were taking meds.

The acupuncturist did say that my kidneys were weak and that was affecting my heart........

If anyone knows anything about acupuncture for afib or any herbs to compliment those treatments....I would be interested.

Thank you !

I can recall several people over the years saying they tried acupuncture, but I don't recall hearing any success stories. Kind of the same as you mostly, some people saying maybe it helped some, but it's no miracle cure.

I've had two or three treatments when i was in afib. Did not stop it, made little or no difference to heart rate. They also gave me some Chinese herb mixture.
Still, i would not entirely discount it. Having practiced some 'Applied Kinesiology' many years ago i'm aware of the energy system and importance of balance thereof. All this is verifiable by simple muscle strength testing. All part and parcel, one factor, of well-being and balance to help our system repair itself.

I tried acupuncture when I was living in Australia, with the top acupuncturist in Sydney - he treated the Aussie Prime Minister.

He said I had too much fire and not enough water, fire being the heart and water being the kidneys. At the first consultation he said it was unlikely to help with my AF because I had had it for such a long time, and he was right, despite my persevering for over a year.

It did help with other things though, and I felt great after the treatments.

Gill

I would be very careful about using the Chinese herbs you're being prescribed. I doubt there's any documentation of them or much testing of them from wherever they're grown to your OMD's shelf. Lots of heavy metals in some.

For several years my wife saw a Caucasian OMD who lived and studied in China and had his own Chinese Pharmacy. About 10 years ago he stopped buying herbs from China after having some tested. He now gets his herbs only from the USA, Canada, Europe and Israel.

I live in San Francisco and study Chi Kung and Tai Chi with Chinese teachers. It seems like Chinese here, particularly the ABC's, (American Born Chinese), and their families have embraced Western Medicine in a big way. Some of the Chinese old timers and new immigrants stick with Traditional Chinese Medicine. Indeed there is a Chinese hospital in Chinatown where one can choose either style of medicine or a combination.

My wife and I have tried acupuncture several times over the years and the jury is still out on its value. I don't think there's any downside to a few sessions.

I had acupuncture for many, many months in hopes of it helping prevent Afib but I didn’t notice any effect. My acupuncturist was well trained in China. He also prescribed herbs that were grown safely on a family farm—no effect sadly.

Quote
Barbcat
Hello
Has anyone on here tried acupuncture for afib?
I searched it on this forum and didn't get any hits.
I just started getting it (3 treatments) and it's really too soon to tell but I think it might be helping.
I will report back after some time if it does prove to be helpful.

The acupuncturist is an older Chinese-born man and was trained in China. He says he has helped people with afib. I haven't gotten any specifics.....we have a bit of a language / cultural barrier....but he's very nice and seems very experienced, It's just hard to have a detailed conversation.

Since acupuncture works in some way on the electrical system and afib is an electrical problem....it seems possible to me that it might be a good way to work on afib. That's just my uneducated, intuitive way for looking at it.

I'm surprised that no-one on this list has tried it !
I would love to hear from anyone who has tried it or who knows anything relating to this question.

Thank you !!! Barbcat

My reasoning has been like jours, si I tried some acupuncture last year. A tenth times with a well known specialist. It did nothing for me.
Of course, it's me and we're all different and it may work for some. I'd say it's worth a try, but don't waste time and money with this if it has no effect...

I tried it a few times and once converted an hour after a session after feeling a thud in my heart. I also had been taking massive amounts of supplements that day, so who knows for sure. With that said, I dont believe it to be scientific because if cant be sensed or observed. How does one double blind test it? The needles are either in or out, theres no placebo. Many believe the distraction of several needles hanging out of your skin does the trick.

I am going to give acupuncture a try, if only because of encouragement from my sister, who is an acupuncturist but lives 2000 miles from me. She says she can often alter heart rhythm.

I am a newbie asymptomatic persistent, 66 years old. (See post [www.afibbers.org] if you want to know more about my case.)

As for scientific study of acupuncture's effect on afib, there's at least one on NIH site, see [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] ... this seems to hold out some hope.

I'm also going to give qigong a try, also at my sister's suggestion. May help with stress, and possibly rhythm.

One upside of both is that there is very little downside risk.

I will report back.