Traditional Chinese medicine interventions effectively reduced hard endpoints of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure without significantly increasing adverse effects compared to control groups.
Systematic Review (n=36,261)
Does traditional Chinese medicine improve clinical outcomes and reduce cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular disease?
Traditional Chinese medicine, when used as an alternative or supplementary approach, may improve surrogate and hard clinical endpoints in cardiovascular disease with a favorable safety profile.
In China and other Asian nations, traditional medicine has long been utilized in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). While Chinese authorities have incorporated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment experiences as a supplementary guide for CVD, its international recognition remains limited due to a scarcity of high-quality and reliable randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evidence. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical outcomes with TCM for CVD after the recent publication of large trials adding >20,000 individuals to the published data. Here, we systematically reviewed 55 published RCTs (modified Jadad scores > 4) in the past 20 years, involving a total of 36,261 patients. In most studies, TCM has been associated with significant improvements in alternative endpoints such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure. A total of 19 trials reported on primary outcomes such as cardiovascular events and death events. During the follow-up period, some Chinese patent medicines can effectively reduce the "hard" endpoints of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure, the overall trend of cardiovascular outcomes is lower. The risk of adverse effects was not significantly increased compared to the control group, suggesting its potential as an alternative approach for primary and secondary prevention of CVD based on the available evidence.
Lin et al. (2024) conducted a systematic review in Cardiovascular disease (hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure) (n=36,261). Traditional Chinese medicine (Chinese patent medicines and acupuncture) vs. Contemporary medication, placebo, or sham acupuncture was evaluated on Cardiovascular events and death events. Traditional Chinese medicine interventions effectively reduced hard endpoints of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure without significantly increasing adverse effects compared to control groups.