PMID: 9431484Aug 1, 1997Paper

Effects of electrostimulation of the vagus afferent endings in patients with coronary artery disease

Coronary Artery Disease
A ZamotrinskyA Cherniavsky

Abstract

In rats, low-frequency electroneurostimulation (ENS) of the ear afferent vagus endings and brainstem structures via transauricular electroacupuncture increases the parasympathetic tone of the autonomic nervous system. We examined the effects of ENS applied in the preoperative period in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting operations. ENS was performed in a group of 10 patients with CAD who were classified as Canadian Cardiovascular Society class IV before operation. A second group of 10 patients with a similar degree of CAD comprised a control group. The efficacy of the procedure was evaluated on the basis of improvement in the patient's clinical course before and after operation. The presence of major inducible stress protein (HSP 70i) and the ATP content of the myocardium was determined in atrial tissue (part of the right heart auricle) from both groups of patients. Tissue from patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome served as a control, non-ischemic, cardiac tissue. A course of 10 ENS procedures improved the patients' preoperative clinical course, producing a rapid reduction in their angina. By the end of the course, the patients no longer developed angina eithe...Continue Reading

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