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This randomised controlled trial, known as the AHEaD trial, investigated whether manual acupuncture could lower blood pressure and improve endothelial function in adults with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension who were not taking any antihypertensive medication. Thirty adults were randomly assigned to receive either real manual acupuncture or non-penetrating sham acupuncture, with both groups completing two thirty-minute sessions per week over twelve weeks.
After twelve weeks, participants in the acupuncture group showed a reduction in peripheral systolic blood pressure of 13.2 millimetres of mercury, compared with 4.1 millimetres of mercury in the sham group. The between-group difference of 9.1 millimetres of mercury was statistically significant. Endothelial function, measured via flow-mediated dilation, also improved significantly more in the acupuncture group than in the control group. Importantly, these benefits were sustained at a follow-up visit thirty days after treatment ended, with the acupuncture group continuing to show meaningfully greater reductions in systolic blood pressure and improvements in flow-mediated dilation compared with sham controls.
The researchers suggest that acupuncture may work by modulating the autonomic nervous system, increasing nitric oxide availability, and reducing sympathetic overactivity — all mechanisms linked to better vascular health. The study was limited by its small sample size and single-centre design.
Conclusion: This trial provides encouraging evidence that acupuncture can meaningfully reduce peripheral systolic blood pressure and improve endothelial function in adults with early-stage hypertension who are not receiving conventional antihypertensive treatment.
Source: Bitencourt AR, Sousa ALL, Veiga Jardim PCB and colleagues. Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42615787) · doi:10.36660/abc.20260462
