Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) on heart rate(HR)

arrhythmia duration

and plasma vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP) level in ventricular tachycardia(VT) rats so as to study its underlying adjustment mechanism.Methods A total of 70 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control

model(VT)

"Daling"(PC 7

EA-PC 7) and "Taiyuan"(LU 9

EA-LU 9) groups.VT model was duplicated by injection of CsCl(2 mol/L

1.6 mmoL/kg

femoral vein).EA(2 Hz/15 Hz

1 mA) was applied to "Daling"(PC 7) and "Taiyuan"(LU 9) for 5 min after inserting acupuncture needles.BL-410 Biofunctional System was used to record the ECG of the standard limb lead Ⅱ

and plasma VIP content assayed by using radioimmunoassay.Results Following intravenous injection of CsCI

HR increased significantly in model

EA-PC 7 and EA-LU 9 groups(P<0.05).Compared to model group

HR at 5 min

10 min and 15 min after administration of CsCI and the duration of arrhythmia in EA-PC 7 group decreased considerably(P<0.01).No significant differences were found between EA-LU 9 and model groups in HR and the duration of arrhythmia(P>0.05).Compared with normal group

the content of plasma VIP in model group decreased apparently(P<0.05)

while in comparison with model group

plasma VIP level in EA-PC 7 group increased considerably(P<0.01).Conclusion Electroacupuncture of "Daling"(PC 7) can effectively suppress CsCI-induced tachycardia which may be closely associated with its effect in reducing plasma VIP level.