ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the syndrome types of traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM) in senile hypertension patients by cluster analysis. Methods Case report sheet for senile hypertension was formed, and then the general data and TCM syndrome information of 495 cases of senile hypertension were recorded. The frequency of syndrome information of the enrolled cases was analyzed, and then the syndrome types were classified by cluster analysis. Results The symptoms with high frequency in senile hypertension patients were dizziness ( 75.9%) , insomnia ( 33.1%) , chest distress ( 29.9%) , poor appetite ( 23.2%) , headache (22.4%), slippery pulse (54.9%), greasy fur (51.7%), stringy pulse (49.7%), and white fur (47.8%) . The main syndrome patterns of 495 cases of senile hypertension were upward hyperactivity of liver yang (23.8%), Qi deficiency and phlegm turbidity (21%), kidney qi deficiency (19.8%), phlegm blended with blood stasis (18.4%), and phlegm heat (17.0%) . Conclusion Senile hypertension patients are dominated with the syndrome types of upward hyperactivity of liver yang, Qi deficiency and kidney deficiency, and are usually complicated with phlegm turbidity, phlegm heat and blood stasis. The complicated syndromes of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis are commonly-seen. The results of cluster analysis are expected to supply evidence for the syndrome differentiation of senile hypertension.