Objective To observe the antihypertensive efficacy of guasha for essential hypertension.Methods Thirty-four cases of essential hypertension were treated with guasha along the following route of the governor vessel,the bladder meridian and the gallbladder meridian and the hand yangming large intestine meridian and the foot yangming stomach meridian on the head,neck and back.The gentle stimulation and supplementation method was applied for deficiency syndrome and the heavy stimulation and drainage method was applied for excess syndrome.Two times a week,total 8 treatments were given Blood pressure was measured at different time points from2：00PM to 8：00PM（2：00PM,2：30PM,3：00PM,3：30PM,4：00PM,5：00PM,6：00PM,8：00PM） before the first application of guasha and after the eighth treatment,respectively.Results Compared with each time point before the first application of guasha,there were statistically significant differences of blood pressure at each corresponding time point after the eighth guasha（all P〈0.01）.Blood pressure reduced from（147.42 ± 13.04） /（86.27 ± 11.91） mmHg to（129.35 ± 9.16） /（80.15 ± 9.41） mmHg;the score of grading and quantifying of TCM pattern significantly decreased（P〈0.01）.The score of quality of life scale of Duchenne hypertension significantly increased（P〈0.01）.Conclusion Blood pressure can be effectively reduced by adopting guasha,and the clinical symptoms and quality of life of patients with essential hypertension can be improved.
