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Chinese Medicine can improve coronary artery disease by reducing inflammation: Study

07/27/2019 // Evangelyn Rodriguez // Views

Tags: adjuvant therapy, alternative medicine, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, atherosclerosis, CAD, cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, disease treatments, goodhealth, goodmedicine, goodscience, heart disease, heart health, herbal medicine, Herbs, inflammation, natural cures, natural medicine, prevention, remedies, research, TCM, Western medicine

In this review, researchers from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine discussed the potential of combining Chinese medicine and Western medicine as a strategy to inhibit inflammation. Their article was published in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine.

• Inflammation plays a critical role in atherosclerosis and the occurrence of acute cardiovascular events.
• Inflammation is also considered as a potential new target for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) to reduce residual cardiovascular risk.
• Recently, a large-scale clinical trial involving anti-inflammatory therapy with canakinumab for atherosclerotic disease (CANTOS) targeted inflammation instead of lipids. It confirmed, for the first time, that the inflammatory hypothesis of atherosclerosis is correct.
• Chinese medicine is a promising adjuvant therapy for CAD because of its safety and pleiotropic effects, some of which include:

  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Anti-platelet
  • Lipid-regulating
  • Endothelium-protective
  • Microcirculation-improving

• In recent years, Chinese medicine has been increasingly applied in the anti-inflammatory treatment of CAD.

Taking CANTOS as an example, the researchers believe that combining Chinese medicine and Western medicine is a sound strategy for combating inflammation -- the root cause of heart disease -- and that their paper can provide a new perspective on the use of Chinese medicine for the treatment of CAD.

Journal Reference:

Li SM, Li JG, Xu H. A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR CHINESE MEDICINE INTERVENTION FOR CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: TARGETING INFLAMMATION. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 22 August 2018;25(1):3–8. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-018-2995-1

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