Traditional Chinese Medicine Prevention and Treatment Strategy of Cognitive Impairment Secondary to Cardiovascular Disease and Simultaneous Treatment of Heart and Brain / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease is a common complication in the elderly population， which seriously threatens the health of patients and affects the long-term quality of life. Cardiovascular diseases can lead to vascular endothelial injury， cerebral hypoperfusion， and brain lesions， and then cause cognitive impairment. Cardiovascular risk factors also increase the risk of secondary cognitive impairment in patients. It is particularly important to seek for early diagnosis and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medicine prevention and treatment. Based on the "holistic concept"， TCM puts forward the theory of "the connection of heart and brain". The heart and brain are connected and both are in charge of mental activities. Heart injury affects the brain， resulting in abnormal consciousness， which is considered to be the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease in TCM. Later generations of doctors propose the theory of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain" on the basis of "treating different diseases with the same treatment" and "the connection of heart and brain". The theory contains two meanings. One is that different diseases can be treated by the same method because of the same etiology and pathogenesis. The other is the coexistence of different diseases and the treatment should be targeted to the same risk factors. This paper systematically discussed the TCM pathogenesis of cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease and the prevention and treatment strategy of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain". In this paper， the deficiency of qi and blood was the foundation， and the interaction of blood stasis and poison and the obstruction of the pulse and the loss of the body were the key factors. Activating blood， detoxifying arteries， and connecting the orifices were the main treatment method for the disease. This paper is expected to enrich the connotation of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain"， and provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment secondary to the cardiovascular disease with TCM.