SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Heart Failure and Transplantation
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1552091
This article is part of the Research TopicA Patient-Centered Approach to the Management of Heart Failure and ComorbiditiesView all 6 articles
The Effects of Moxibustion in Chronic Heart Failure Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1First Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- 2The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
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Objective:Moxibustion has been utilized in China for 2,000 years as a safe and straightforward intervention for Chronic Heart Failure (CHF). Numerous articles indicate that moxibustion enhances quality of life and certain heart failure indicators in CHF patients; however, there is a deficiency of high-quality, evidence-based studies with large sample sizes. Our objective was to systematically summarize and assess the clinical efficacy of moxibustion as an adjunctive treatment for CHF.Methods:A thorough search was performed across the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, and CBM databases from their inception until August 1, 2024. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was utilized to aggregate the pooled metrics in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to compare the clinical efficacy rate, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and cardiac output (CO) variations between standard CHF treatment and standard treatment combined with moxibustion for CHF.Results:The study encompassed 22 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 2039 participants, with 1021 in the experimental group and 1018 in the control group. The experimental group exhibited a superior clinical efficacy rate compared to the control group [RR = 1.230, 95% CI (1.173, 1.289), p < 0.05], reduced NT-proBNP levels [SMD = -1.035, 95% CI (-1.730, -0.340), p < 0.05], enhanced LVEF [SMD = 0.909, 95% CI (0.704, 1.114), p < 0.001], improved 6MWT [SMD = 0.909, 95% CI (0.704, 1.114), p < 0.001], and increased CO [SMD = 1.0873, 95% CI (0.882, 1.293), p < 0.001]. Following the application of funnel plots and the trim-and-fill method, the findings regarding clinical efficacy rate, LVEF, 6MWT, and CO were deemed reliable, whereas the results for NT-proBNP were found to be unstable. Subgroup analysis revealed that the number of moxibustion points contributed to heterogeneity in LVEF, 6MWT, and CO, while treatment duration accounted for heterogeneity in 6MWT.The study demonstrates that, in comparison to standard treatment, the integration of moxibustion for CHF patients markedly enhanced the efficacy rate, LVEF, CO, and 6MWT, and may reduce NT-proBNP levels,but this result requires further validation with larger sample sizes and standardized testing methods.
Keywords: Chronic heart failure (CHF), Moxibustion, randomized controlled trials, Systematic review, Meta-analysis
Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 25 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Song, Wu, Li, Chen, Yang and Liao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huili Liao, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
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