Electroacupuncture for Heart Protection: Clinical Application in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Bypass Surgery

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death and disability in Singapore and worldwide. Many patients with multi-vessel CAD require surgical revascularisation by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and are at risk of postsurgical complications such as peri-operative myocardial injury (PMI), left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, and death. This risk is particularly important given that the aging population, and increased prevalence of co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, renal failure) and complexity of cardiac surgery, mean that higher risk patients are undergoing CABG surgery. As such, new treatment strategies are required to protect the heart during CABG surgery in order to improve health outcomes in patients with CAD. In this regard, a number of animal studies have demonstrated that electroacupuncture (EA) at cardiac-related acupoints can protect the heart against the detrimental effects of acute ischaemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). However, the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of EA, and whether EA can protect the heart against PMI in patients undergoing CABG surgery are not known. Therefore, in this research proposal, the investigators will investigate whether EA at cardiac-related acupoints can protect the heart against PMI during CABG surgery, and the investigators will elucidate the mechanisms underlying the cardioprotective effects of EA.