Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 13;44(3):507-514.
doi: 10.5937/jomb0-54440.

Traditional Chinese medicine as an adjunctive therapy improves cardiac function and reduces serum inflammatory markers in patients with chronic heart failure

Yonghong Zheng  1 , Chunhui Huang  1 , Wei Zhang  1 , Yiping Shi  1 , Fangchao Chen  1 , Jianru Zhou  1
Affiliations

Traditional Chinese medicine as an adjunctive therapy improves cardiac function and reduces serum inflammatory markers in patients with chronic heart failure

Yonghong Zheng et al. J Med Biochem. .

Abstract
in English, Serbian

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.

Uvod: Cilj rada je bio da se proceni uticaj tradicionalnog lečenja kineske medicine u odnosu na standardni tretman na metriku srčane funkcije, serumske inflamatorne markere i kvalitet života kod pacijenata sa hroničnom srčanom insuficijencijom (CHF).

Metode: Ukupno 40 pacijenata sa CHF nasumično je raspoređeno u grupu za posmatranje (TKM tretman) ili kontrolnu grupu (standardna Vestern terapija), sa 20 pacijenata u svakoj grupi. Tokom perioda lečenja od 3 meseca, primarni ishodi uključujući indikatore srčane funkcije (ejekciona frakcija [EF], minutni volumen [CO], krajnji dijastolni pritisak leve komore [LVEDP]), tolerancija na vežbanje (6-minutni rezultati testa hoda [6MVT]) i inflamatorni markeri (visoka osetljivost, interaktivni C-ukin-6-RP protein, C-ukin-6) faktor nekroze tumora-alfa [TNF-a]). Sekundarni ishodi uključivali su Upitnik za život sa srčanom insuficijencijom u Minesoti (MLHFK) i stope neželjenih reakcija. Statistička analiza je izvršena korišćenjem t-testova i hi-kvadrat testova, sa značajnošću postavljenom na P < 0,05.

Rezultati: Nakon tretmana, posmatračka grupa je pokazala značajno veća poboljšanja u EF (44,14% ± 4,95% na -spram 40,15% ± 4,77%, P = 0,013), CO (4,62 ± 0,76 L/min naspram 4,10 ± 0,72 L/min, P = 70,70 L/min, P = 80). 2,50 mmHg naspram 20,80 ± 2,64 mmHg, P = 0,016) i rezultati 6MVT (526,84 ± 49,20 m vs. 432,75 ± 37,26 m, P < 0,001), u poređenju sa kontrolnom grupom. Inflamatorni markeri i MLHFK rezultati su takođe značajno poboljšani, dok je stopa neželjenih reakcija bila niža u posmatranoj grupi (0,00% naspram 20,00%, P = 0,035).

Zaključak: TCM kao dodatna terapija pokazuje superiornu efikasnost i sigurnost u poređenju sa standardnim tretmanom za CHF, sa značajnim poboljšanjima u srčanoj funkciji, toleranciji na vežbanje i inflamatornim markerima. Ovi nalazi pružaju kvantitativne dokaze koji podržavaju kliničku primenu TCM u lečenju CHF.

Keywords: cardiac function; chronic heart failure; traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in this work.Conflict of Interest: The authors stated that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Jia Q, Wang L, Zhang X, Ding Y, Li H, Yang Y, et al Prevention and treatment of chronic heart failure through traditional Chinese medicine: Role of the gut microbiota. Pharmacol Res. 2020;151:104552. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2019.104552. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lin L, Xu H, Yao Z, Zeng X, Kang L, Li Y, et al Jin-Xin-Kang alleviates heart failure by mitigating mitochondrial dysfunction through the Calcineurin/Dynamin-Related Protein 1 signaling pathway. J Ethnopharmacol. 2024;335:118685. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118685. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Xu X, Yang Y, Zhou G, Du Z, Zhang X, Mao W, et al Clinical Efficacy of Qili Qiangxin Capsule Combined with Western Medicine in the Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021;2021:9761159. doi: 10.1155/2021/9761159. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li X, Li D, Cui X, Zhou K, Liu J, Fan Z, et al A Single-Central, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial Protocol: A Clinical Effect Evaluation Study on the TCM Comprehensive Intervention Program for Chronic Heart Failure. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2021;2021:1–7. doi: 10.1155/2021/4577139. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nie H, Li S, Liu M, Zhu W, Zhou X, Yan D. Yiqi Fumai Injection as an Adjuvant Therapy in Treating Chronic Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis of 33 Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020;2020:1876080. doi: 10.1155/2020/1876080. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources