Acupuncture therapy in reducing high blood pressure

The trial will be conducted in selected health facilities in Chitwan, Nepal Once the participants meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria at the screening visit, there will be one week run in period, and the participants will be randomised either to the intervention group or the control group using simple randomization. The intervention group will receive acupuncture intervention three times a week for six weeks and follow up period of once a week for six weeks. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured at each visit. The control group will have no intervention but the systolic and diastolic Blood pressure will be measured and recorded three times a week for 6 weeks and thereafter once a week for 6 weeks. Both groups will receive their regular hypertensive medication or the therapy that the participants are taking for the treatment of hypertension as prescribed by their physician. The intervention is given on the top of the standard care. No changes will be made on the standard care during the course of the study