Premium
Traditional Chinese medicines in the management of cardiovascular diseases: a comprehensive systematic review
Author(s) -
Layne Kerry,
Ferro Albert
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/bcp.13013
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , heart failure , diabetes mellitus , odds ratio , randomized controlled trial , blood pressure , meta analysis , stroke (engine) , disease , clinical trial , coronary artery disease , traditional chinese medicine , coronary heart disease , intensive care medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , mechanical engineering , engineering , endocrinology
Aims The aim was to perform a systematic review of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) in cardiovascular disease. Methods Electronic databases were searched up to 11 November 2015 for all randomized‐controlled trials evaluating the effect of TCM in hypertension, ischaemic stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using a fixed‐effects model. Results Four hypertension studies were eligible for statistical analysis and included 133 patients receiving TCM and 130 control patients. There were significant reductions in systolic blood pressure in patients receiving TCM, comparable to results achieved with pharmaceutical medicines. An OR of 3.781 (95% confidence interval 2.392, 5.977; P = 0.000) was observed for the anti‐hypertensive effect of TCM. Significant heterogeneity was present ( P = 0.011), with a tendency towards publication bias that did not reach significance ( P = 0.05275). Outcome measures for other cardiovascular diseases were inconsistent. Conclusions Certain TCM compounds appear to have significant anti‐hypertensive effects, and although some are associated in some studies with improved outcomes in coronary heart disease, heart failure and type 2 diabetes mellitus, the data are inconsistent and will require large‐scale randomized‐controlled trials to allow full evaluation of any potential therapeutic benefit in these areas.