ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of Bushen-Tongmai decoction on plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and angiotensinⅡ(AngⅡ) in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods A total of 100 patients with chronic heart failure from January 2011 to December 2013 were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group, with 50 patients in each group. The patients in the control and treatment groups received conventional treatment and Bushen-Tongmai decoction plus conventional treatment for 8 weeks, respectively. Laboratory measurements including PRA, BNP and AngⅡwere performed before and after treatment.Cardiac function was measured before and after treatment with echocardiography. Results The PRA , plasma levels of BNP and AngⅡ after treatment in the treatment group were significantly decreased than before treatment (treatment group:t=2.990, 4.030, 4.401, all P<0.01);after treatment, there was significant difference in PRA, BNP and AngⅡbetween the treatment group and the control group(t=2.622, 2.863, 3.809, all P<0.05). Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by echocardiography in both groups were significantly improved (treatment group:t=9.167, 11.030, 13.273, all P<0.01;control group:t=5.189, 7.626, 6.906, all P<0.01). Improvements of LVESD, LVEDD and LVEF in the treatment group were grater than those in the control group (t=4.037, 2.701, 7.458, all P<0.01). Conclusion Bushen-Tongmai decoction can effectively decrease PRA , plasma levels of BNP, AngⅡ, and improve cardiac function in patients with chronic heart failure.