Aims. To evaluate the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) plus conventional treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods and Results. Participants (n = 808) with ACS who underwent PCI from thirteen hospitals of mainland China were randomized into two groups: CHMs plus conventional treatment group (treatment group) or conventional treatment alone group (control group). All participants received conventional treatment, and participants in treatment group additionally received CHMs for six months. The primary endpoint was the composite of cardiac death, nonfatal recurrent MI, and ischemia-driven revascularization. Secondary endpoint was the composite of readmission for ACS, stroke, or congestive heart failure. The safety endpoint involved occurrence of major bleeding events. The incidence of primary endpoint was 2.7% in treatment group versus 6.2% in control group (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.87; P = 0.015). The incidence of secondary endpoint was 3.5% in treatment group versus 8.7% in control group (HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.72; P = 0.002). No major bleeding events were observed in any participant. Conclusion. Treatment with CHMs plus conventional treatment further reduced the occurrence of cardiovascular events in patients with ACS after PCI without increasing risk of major bleeding.

The study was to access the association between resting heart rate (RHR) and one-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients with ACS after PCI (n = 808) were prospectively followed-up for MACE. RHR was obtained from electrocardiogram. MACE was defined as a composite of cardiac death, nonfatal recurrent myocardial infarction, ischemic-driven revascularization, and ischemic stroke. The association between RHR and one-year risk of MACE was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression model. Compared with patients with RHR >76 bpm, the adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) was 0.51 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.23-1.14; P = 0.100) for patients with RHR < 61 bpm, and 0.44 (95%CI: 0.23-0.85; P = 0.014) for those with RHR 61-76 bpm. For patients with RHR ≥ 61 bpm, an increase of 10 bpm in RHR was associated with an increase by 38.0% in the risk of MACE (AHR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.04-1.83; P = 0.026). ACS patients after PCI with RHR >76 bpm were at higher risk of MACE during one-year follow-up compared with patients with RHR 61-76 bpm. An elevated RHR ≥ 61 bpm was associated with increased risk of one-year MACE in ACS patients.

Sini Tang (SNT) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula consisting of four different herbs: the root of Aconitum carmichaelii, the bark of Cinnamomum cassia, the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, and the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis. This study aims to evaluate the improvement of early ventricular remodeling and cardiac function in myocardial infarction (MI) rats by SNT. A MI model was established by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Following treatment for 4 weeks, ultrasonic echocardiography was performed. Myocardial histopathological changes were observed using haematoxylin and eosin staining. Collagens (type I and type III), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and Toll-like receptors (TLR-2 and TLR-4) were measured in plasma, serum, and myocardial tissue. SNT treatment decreased the infarct size, the left ventricular cavity area/heart cavity area ratio, and the left ventricle dimension at end systole and increased the left ventricular ejection fraction. SNT reduced the levels of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in myocardial tissue significantly and decreased the collagens content in serum and in myocardial tissue. SNT could partially reduce the level of TGF-β1 in serum and in myocardial tissue. Our data suggest that the Chinese medicine formula SNT has the potential to improve early ventricular remodeling and cardiac function after MI.