ABSTRACT
The heart and kidney damage is a clinical disease commonly seen, the 2 organs can interact with each other as cause and effect, leading to a series of clinical symptoms which is the cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). In 2008, according to the connection between the heart and kidney, the nephrologists Ronco, etc, completed the definition and classification of CRS, including type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ of CRS being acute cardiorenal syndrome (ACRS). ACRS refers to the fact that when the damage of heart or kidney dysfunction influences each other leading to a clinical syndrome caused by a sharp deterioration of cardiorenal function. At present, no definite diagnostic criteria for ACRS have yet been made. The pathogenesis of ACRS may be related to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), nitric oxide-reactive oxygen species (NO-ROS) system, inflammatory reaction, the excessive activation of sympathetic nervous system and so on. Clinically, about 50% of ACRS patients are accompanied by acute decompensated cardiorenal dysfunction or failure, that seriously impact on the patients' clinical prognosis and survival rate, so it is necessary to find an effective therapeutic regimen. At present, the treatments of ACRS have mainly the diuretic, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), angiotensin receptor inhibitor (ARB), β-receptor blocker, positive inotropic drugs, recombinant human erythropoietin, recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide, continuous blood purification (CBP) etc, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) also has a certain effect for improving the clinical symptoms of ACRS patients. Now the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and combined treatment of TCM and western medicine for treatment of ACRS are summarized.