Interpretation of Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension with Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

In the "major preventable diseases and health problems in China in the next 20 years" released by the Chinese Academy of Engineering， hypertension takes the second place. As a metabolic disease， hypertension has become a major global public health problem. In recent years， owing to the multiple targets， multiple components， and holistic regulation， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has attracted the interest of scholars in the treatment of hypertension. Especially for young patients and patients with early-onset hypertension， it is expected to achieve the purpose of stopping or reducing western medicine and decreasing adverse reactions by syndrome differentiation and treatment. Through literature review and expert consultation， the Society of Cardiovascular Diseases of China Association of Chinese Medicine has organized experts to formulate comprehensive intervention strategies of TCM for hypertension and finally developed the Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension with Traditional Chinese Medicine （hereinafter referred to as the Consensus）. It was demonstrated and approved at the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Diseases of China Association of Chinese Medicine in December 2018 and officially published in August 2019. Combined with literature research and clinical antihypertensive practice of TCM， this paper aims to make a detailed interpretation of the key pathogenesis， syndromes， classical prescriptions， and syndrome differentiation-based medication in the Consensus， which is expected to promote the clinical popularization and application of the Consensus. The conclusions are as follows. The pathogenesis of hypertension can be classified into fire syndrome， fluid-retention syndrome， and deficiency syndrome. In terms of syndrome characteristics， hypertension is mainly divided into three major syndromes： ascendant hyperactivity of liver Yang， stagnation of phlegm-fluid， and deficiency of kidney Yin. Moreover， it details the key points in the treatment of hypertension with the recommended classical prescriptions and the medication rules. As for the non-drug therapy， Taiji， Baduanjin， Qigong， yoga， acupuncture， moxibustion， massage， pricking collaterals， cupping， and foot bathing are also recommended to relieve clinical symptoms and control blood pressure. In terms of health care， it is emphasized to pay attention to "uncontrollable factors of blood pressure" such as exogenous factors， emotional disorders， insomnia， and constipation.