Traditional Chinese Medicine for Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure
Traditional Chinese Medicine for Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure
The purpose of this study is to determine whether traditional Chinese medicine as
 complementary treatment is safe and effective in the treatment of chronic heart failure.
Heart failure (HF) can be defined as an abnormality of cardiac structure or function leading
 to failure of heart to deliver oxygen at a rate commensurate with the requirements of the
 metabolizing tissues, despite normal filling pressures (or only at the expense of increased
 filling pressures). And according to the nature of the clinical presentation, HF is divided
 into acute or chronic HF.

 In 2003, a random sample survey of 15,518 urban or rural residents between 35 and 74 years
 old was made in China: the prevalence rate of heart failure was 0.9%, and according to the
 result, there was about 4,000,000 HF subjects in China.

 In China, the integrative treatment of western and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for HF
 is common and has been developed as a treatment model. TCM has been used in China and other
 south and east Asia countries for thousands of years. Syndrome differentiation and treatment
 variation are the basic principles in understanding and treatment of diseases. Investigators
 would like to test the hypothesis that it is efficacy and safety for patients to take TCM
 granules according to syndrome differentiation.

 The specific aims for the study were to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM in treating
 chronic heart failure (CHF).
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  The basic primary heart disease is coronary heart disease ( with diagnosis for
 coronary heart disease : confirmed by coronary angiography; confirmed by coronary CT;
 history of acute myocardial infarction; limb-salvage Q wave for ECG; ecg ECG test and
 radionuclide examination support, etc.); no history of hypertension or taking
 antihypertensive drugs, with blood pressure under 160/100 mmHg.

 -  With a history of coronary heart disease, symptoms and signs; with difficult
 breathing, fatigue and fluid retention (edema); with left ventricular enlargement, end
 systolic volume of left ventricular increase and left ventricular ejection fraction
 (LVEF) ≤ 40; with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classificationⅡ or Ⅲ.

 -  Male or female subjects between 40 and 75 years old;

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Serious valvular heart disease, pericardial disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart
 disease, acute myocardial infarction ( within 4 weeks), cardiac shock, acute
 myocarditis or serious arrhythmia with the variation of hemodynamics.

 -  Pulmonary artery hypertension caused by pulmonary heart disease, acute or chronic
 pulmonary embolism, or stroke within a half year.

 -  Serious hepatic insufficiency ( the index of liver function being 2 times of normal
 one), renal insufficiency (Ccr>20%, Scr>3mg/dl or 265 μmol/L), diseases of blood
 system, malignant tumor, diabetes mellitus with serious complications, hyperthyroid or
 hypothyroid.

 -  Infection: fever; the numeration of leukocyte being more than 10×109/L, the percentage
 of neutrophile granulocyte being more than 85%; patchy shadows in X ray of Chest,
 meeting one of the above three.

 -  Pregnancy or lactation; mental disease and infectious disease patients.

 -  Take part in other trials within two months.