ABSTRACT
ObjectiveChronic heart failure （CHF） is the terminal stage of cardiovascular disease. The adverse cardiovascular events of CHF patients with weakness have increased significantly. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a good effect on CHF. However，there are few reports on the clinical observation of the treatment of CHF with weakness in elderly patients by TCM combined with conventional health-preserving exercises. This study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of Qiangxin decoction combined with Baduanjin in the treatment of elderly patients with CHF and weakness. MethodSixty CHF patients with Qi deficiency，blood stasis，and water retention syndrome admitted to the Cardiovascular Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled. The patients in the control group were treated with conventional western medicine according to the guidelines，while those in the treatment group received additional Qiangxin decoction and Baduanjin exercise based on the therapeutic protocol of the control group. The levels of serum N-terminal B-type brain natriuretic peptide precursor （NT-proBNP），creatine kinase （CK），lactate dehydrogenase （LDH），free fatty acid （FFA），left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF），left ventricular end-diastolic dimension （LEVDD），6-minute walk distance （6MWD），Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire （MLHFQ）， and Tilburg Frailty Indicator （TFI） scores of the two groups were observed before and one month after treatment. At the same time，the re-admission within three months was compared between the two groups. ResultThere was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the general data and the therapeutic indexes before treatment. After treatment，the NT-proBNP，CK，LDH，FFA，LVEDD，MLHFQ， and TFI scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment（P<0.05，P<0.01）， and the LVEF and 6MWD were higher（P<0.05，P<0.01）. The efficacy of the treatment group was superior to that of the control group after treatment （P<0.05，P<0.01）. The re-admission rate within three months in the treatment group was 7.1% （2/28）， lower than 30.8% （8/26） in the control group （χ2=4.897，P<0.05）. ConclusionQiangxin decoction combined with Baduanjin is helpful to improve the body energy metabolism，heart function，quality of life，and weakness level of elderly CHF patients with weakness， and reduce the rate of re-admission.
ABSTRACT
Third-degree atrioventricular block is a severe bradyarrhythmia， for which there is no proven effective drugs currently. Permanent pacemaker implantation recommended by the guideline， however， is not suitable for most patients. This paper reported on a case of third-degree atrioventricular block after cardiac radiofrequency ablation who has been treated with the method of boosting qi， warming yang and unblocking collaterals. The TCM syndrome of this case was diagnosed as yang qi depletion and phlegm-stasis blocking the collaterals， for which Baoyuan Decoction and Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction （保元汤合麻黄附子细辛汤） in modification has been used to boost qi， warm yang and raise the sunken， dissolve phlegm， invigorate blood and unblock collaterals. After nearly 7-month treatment， the symptoms such as palpitations， shortness of breath and fatigue were basically cured， and the electrocardiogram returned to the normal.