Additional Acupuncture Confers a Favorable Long-Term Prognosis for Elderly Hypertensive Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis after Atorvastatin Treatment.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to investigate the clinical efficacy and long-term prognosis of acupuncture (AP) combined with atorvastatin (ATO) in treating senile essential hypertension (EH) complicated with carotid atherosclerosis (CA).

Methods: 108 elderly EH patients with CA admitted to our hospital between January 2018 and September 2018 were enrolled into the study, consisting of 67 patients who received treatment of AP with ATO (AP + ATO group) and 41 patients who received treatment of ATO alone (ATO group). Comparative outcomes included clinical efficacy, blood pressure (BP), the levels of blood lipids and inflammatory factors, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), the number of unstable carotid intima plaques, the carotid plaque area, and the incidence of adverse reactions. All patients were followed up for 3 years to evaluate their quality of life and the recurrence rate of CA.

Results: The AP + ATO group presented a higher efficacy, a declined BP, and lower posttreatment levels of blood lipids and inflammatory factors than the ATO group (P < 0.05). Reductions were observed in IMT, number of plaques, and plaque area in both groups after treatment, with more significant improvements in the AP + ATO group (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in the incidence of adverse reactions between two groups after treatment (P > 0.05). The follow-up analysis demonstrated a higher SF-36 score and a lower recurrence rate of CA in the AP + ATO group than the ATO group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The findings suggested that, for elderly EH patients with CA, treatment of AP with ATO offers better clinical efficacy and safety, which not only can decline the BP, but also can reduce blood lipids and plaque formation, and improve quality of life.