Traditional Chinese medicine as an adjunctive therapy improves cardiac function and reduces serum inflammatory markers in patients with chronic heart failure
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Background: To evaluate the impact of traditional Chinese medicine treatment versus standard treatment on cardiac function metrics, serum inflammatory markers, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods: A total of 40 CHF patients were randomly assigned to either the observation group (TCM treatment) or the control group (standard Western therapy), with 20 patients in each group. Over a 3-month treatment period, primary outcomes including cardiac function indicators (ejection fraction [EF], cardiac output [CO], left ventricular end-diastolic pressure [LVEDP]), exercise tolerance (6-minute walk test [6MWT] results), and inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-a]) were assessed. Secondary outcomes included the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) scores and adverse reaction rates. Statistical analysis was performed using t-tests and chi-square tests, with significance set at P < 0.05. Results: After treatment, the observation group showed significantly greater improvements in EF (44.14% ± 4.95% vs. 40.15% ± 4.77%, P = 0.013), CO (4.62 ± 0.76 L/min vs. 4.10 ± 0.72 L/min, P = 0.032), LVEDP (18.76 ± 2.50 mmHg vs. 20.80 ± 2.64 mmHg, P = 0.016), and 6MWT results (526.84 ± 49.20 m vs. 432.75 ± 37.26 m, P < 0.001), compared to the control group. Inflammatory markers and MLHFQ scores were also significantly improved, while the adverse reaction rate was lower in the observation group (0.00% vs. 20.00%, P = 0.035). Conclusions: TCM as an adjunctive therapy demonstrates superior efficacy and safety compared to standard treatment for CHF, with significant improvements in cardiac function, exercise tolerance, and inflammatory markers. These findings provide quantitative evidence supporting the clinical application of TCM in CHF management.
Source: Journal of Medical Biochemistry
DOI: 10.5937/jomb0-54440
Authors: Yonghong Zheng, Chunhui Huang, Wei Zhang, Yiping Shi, Fangchao Chen, Jianru Zhou
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405730230