Table 7.
Heart injuries associated with acupuncture (5 cases).
| First author/year (reference) | Country | Cases age/sex | Disease treated | Punctured site | Complication | Onset after acupuncture | Practitioner | Followup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirchgatterer 2000 [82] | Austria | 83/F | Not stated | Sternum | Cardiac tamponade | 20 min | Experienced acupuncturist | Recovered (2 wk) |
| Park 2004 [83] | Korea | 49/F | Shoulder pain | Shoulders and upper back | Cardiac tamponade | 2 h | Not specified | Recovered (after surgery) |
| Kim 2006 [84] | Korea | 70/M | Chronic lung disease | Neck, chest, and abdomen (embed needles) | Right ventricular embolism | 1 y | Not specified | Not stated |
| Song 2010 [85] | Korea | 69/F | Pain | Shoulders and neck (implanted needles) | Myocardium injury | 10 y | Traditional medicine practitioner | Unknown |
| Kim 2011 [57] | Korea | 54/f | Myalgia and dyspepsia | Chest, abdomen | Hemopericardium | 30 min | Unauthorized acupuncturist | Recovered (6 d) |