Clinical Efficacy of Shuxing Decoction in Treatment of Diastolic Heart Failure:A Report of 30 Cases

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Shuxing Decoction in the treatment of diastolic heart failure(DHF)and to investigate its action mechanism.Methods Sixty patients with DHF were randomly divided into control group(n=30)and treatment group(n=30).The control group received conventional Western medicine treatment,while the treatment group received Shuxing Decoction in addition to conventional Western medicine treatment.The course of treatment was two weeks.The two groups were compared in terms of improvement in cardiac function after treatment.Before and after treatment,E/A ratio,as calculated by echocardiography,and serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),nitric oxide(NO),and endothelin-1(ET-1)were determined.Results There was no significant difference in treatment outcome between the two groups(P0.05).After treatment,both groups showed significant increases in E/A ratio and serum NO level(P0.01)and significant decreases in serum BNP and ET-1levels(P0.01).The treatment group had significantly higher increases in E/A ratio and serum NO level than the control group(P0.01).Conclusion Shuxin Decoction combined with conventional Western medicine treatment can improve cardiac function in DHF patients and is superior to conventional Western medicine treatment in increasing E/A ratio and serum NO level.