ABSTRACT
Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone containing a peroxide group isolated from the plant Artemisia annua. It has antimalarial activity and is effective for the treatment of malaria. With the deepening of research on artemisinin， the pharmacological effects of artemisinin and its derivatives in other systems have gradually become a research hotspot. This article reviews the research progress of artemisinin and its derivatives in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Artemisinin and its derivatives in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease have shown anti-atherosclerosis， lipid- lowering， inhibition of vascular remodeling， reducing vascular pressure， improving ventricular remodeling， anti-arrhythmia， protection of vascular endothelium， prevention and treatment of diabetic cardiovascular complications and protection of myocardial cells and other pharmacological effects. It provides a new treatment strategy for common cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension， arrhythmia， coronary heart disease complications after stent implantation， hyperlipidemia， etc. However， there are few studies on the antiplatelet aggregation and antithrombotic effects of artemisinin and its derivatives， the molecular mechanisms behind many pharmacological effects have not yet been clarified， and there is little clinical application. A large number of basic studies and clinical trials are still needed to answer these questions.
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.
ABSTRACT
Hypertension is a common cardiovascular disease. At present， the prevalence and mortality of hypertension in China continue to rise， the morbidity and mortality of complications remain high. The continuous increase of blood pressure can cause damage to multiple target organs such as heart， brain， kidney and blood vessels. This article reviews the research progress of signal pathways related to the prevention and treatment of hypertension target organ damage by traditional Chinese medicine， and summarizes six signal pathways related to RhoA/ROCK， renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system， endothelin-1/nitric oxide， transforming growth factor-β1/Smads， phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases/protein kinase B， and Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear transcription factor-κB， in order to provide theoretical evidence for further research on clinical diagnosis and treatment of hypertension and its target organ damage.