Table 1.

Search strategy for the PubMed database.

Query	Search terms
#1	“Acupuncture” [mesh]
#2	“Acupuncture therapy” OR “needle therapy” OR “needle warming therapy” OR “electroacupuncture” OR “needle” OR “pinprick” OR “acupoint”
#3	#1 OR #2
#4	“Hypertension”[mesh]
#5	“Essential hypertension” OR “high blood pressure” OR “blood pressure”
#6	#4 OR #5
#7	Meta-analysis as topic [mesh]
#8	“Systematic review” OR “meta-analysis” OR “meta analysis” OR “meta-analyses” OR “review, systematic” OR “systematic reviews”
#9	#7 OR #8
#10	#3 AND #6 AND #9