Protocol to study the effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on patients with coronary heart disease showing phlegm-heat-stasis symptom pattern.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe a protocol to assess the effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) showing symptoms of phlegm-heat-stasis symptom pattern. METHODS: This is a single-blind randomized controlled trial that will be conducted in the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of TCM and 60 patients with CHD showing phlegm-heat-stasis symptom pattern will be included. Patients will be randomly divided into either a treatment group (Qingre Huatan formulae + Western Medicine) or to a control group (conventional Western Medicine only) for 7-14 d. Primary patient outcomes will be vascular endothelial function and quality of life. Measurement data will be expressed as mean ± standard deviation using t-test analysis or repeated-measure variance analysis. Enumeration data will be expressed by cases and percentages, using χ2 analysis, and rank sum test will be used for ranked data. RESULTS: This study further verified the effectiveness and safety of Qingre Huatan formulae for the phlegm-heat-stasis syndrome pattern of CHD on the basis of previous studies on the characteristics of syndromes and medication rules. DISCUSSION: Phlegm-heat-stasis symptom pattern has become a common manifestation in CHD. Standardized Western medications together with TCM have been extensively used in China and have developed into a comprehensive treatment model. Our trial will help formulate recommendations for symptom maintenance and provide clinical evidence for the application of TCM for patients with CHD showing phlegm-heat-stasis symptom pattern.