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The aim of this trial was to evaluate the feasibility and effect of home-based transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in patients with hypertension. In this randomized pilot trial, patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to the TEAS group or the usual care group. Participants in the usual care group were instructed to continue taking their antihypertensive drugs and received education on lifestyle modifications. In addition, participants in the TEAS group received 4 weekly sessions of noninvasive acupoint stimulation for 12 weeks at home. The primary outcome was the change in office systolic blood pressure at week 12 from baseline. Withdrawal from the study and adverse events associated with TEAS were also recorded. Sixty patients were randomized, with 30 patients in the TEAS group, of whom 1 was lost at week 36, and 30 patients in the usual care group, of whom 3 were lost by week 12. The reduction in systolic blood pressure at week 12 was greater in the TEAS group (−8.53 mm Hg; 95% CI [−13.37, −3.70 mm Hg]) than in the usual care group (−1.70 mm Hg; 95% CI [−4.29, −0.89 mm Hg]), with a between-group difference of −6.83 mm Hg (95% CI, [−12.23, −1.43 mm Hg]; P = 0.014). No TEAS-related adverse events occurred. In conclusion, home-based TEAS added to usual care for patients with hypertension was acceptable and safe and may be a potential treatment option. A larger randomized controlled trial of this intervention is warranted., Home-based transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation added to usual care for patients with hypertension was acceptable, safe and may be a potential treatment option. TEAS, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation; SBP, systolic blood pressure.

IntroductionHypertension is a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may be effective for hypertension, but the evidence remains limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the smart phone-based TEAS as adjunctive therapy for hypertension.Methods and analysisThis study is a 52-week cluster randomised controlled trial with 1600 hypertension patients in 32 community health service centres. Patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomised into usual care group or TEAS group in a 1:1 ratio. All patients will be provided with usual care as recommended by the guidelines. In addition to this, patients in the TEAS group will receive non-invasive acupoint electrical stimulation for 30 min at home, 4 times weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome will be the mean difference in the changes in office systolic blood pressure from baseline to 12 weeks between TEAS and usual care groups. Secondary outcomes will include the change of mean diastolic blood pressure, proportion of patients with controlled blood pressure (blood pressure Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by ethics committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (No. 2020BZHYLL0104). Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients before randomisation. Trial results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications.Trial registration numberChiCTR2000039400.