The effect of P6 acupressure point on physiological indices in coronary angiography candidate

Angiography is an invasive diagnostic procedure in cardiovascular diseases. In some cases, before angiography, patients experience anxiety and increase in vital signs in response to sympathetic system activation. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of P6 acupressure point on physiological indexes in coronary angiography candidates.
In a randomized clinical trial, after taking written informed consent, 60 candidates for coronary angiography were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (pressure on the P6 point of both hands for 10 minutes) and control (pressure on the tip of thumb of both hands for 10 minutes). Vital signs were measured before and half an hour after the intervention. Independent t-test and Fisher exact test were used to analyze data.
The two groups did not have significant differences in demographic information and physiological variables before the intervention (p> 0.05). But after intervention a significant difference was seen between the two groups in terms of respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure.
P6 acupressure point can reduce some physiological parameters of patients before angiography. Acupressure as a part of nursing care can be offered for these patients. Further studies in this area is recommended.