1. Coronary Heart Disease

1. Coronary Heart Disease

Traditional Chinese medicine refers to this disease as "chest obstruction," which is similar to coronary heart disease. In "Essential Prescriptions for Urgent Cases," nine formulas are listed for treating chest obstruction, with all medications focusing on the qi level. Since the advent of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, given that this disease is caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, leading to narrowing of the vessel lumen and insufficient blood supply, it falls under the category of "blood stasis" in TCM. Therefore, using activating blood circulation and resolving stasis to treat this disease has significantly improved therapeutic outcomes, providing a new avenue for its treatment. The Coronary Heart Disease No. 2 formula (red peony, chuanxiong, safflower, agarwood, dan shen) formulated by the Beijing regional collaborative group is a particularly notable achievement in this regard. West Garden Hospital used this formula to treat 600 cases of angina pectoris due to coronary heart disease, achieving an overall effective rate of 90.7%, with an electrocardiogram effectiveness rate of 76.3%. Experimental studies have demonstrated that the Coronary Heart Disease No. 2 formula can lower blood lipids, reduce lipid infiltration in the arterial intima, enhance fibrinolysis, and inhibit platelet aggregation—effects that help suppress the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Additionally, this formula can dilate coronary vessels, protect the myocardium from ischemia, relieve smooth muscle spasms, and enhance the body's tolerance to hypoxia—all of which benefit the normal physiological activities of the heart. The PLA's 157th Hospital used Mao Dongqing and a compound Mao Dongqing formula (with persimmon leaves and motherwort) to treat 274 cases of angina pectoris due to coronary heart disease, achieving an effective rate of 89.3%, with a significant effectiveness rate of 60.7% and an electrocardiogram effectiveness rate of 76.6%. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University of Medicine used Dan Shen No. 2 (dan shen, chuanxiong) to treat this disease, and after verification by several institutions, the effectiveness rate for angina pectoris reached as high as 92.2%, with an electrocardiogram effectiveness rate of 33.8%. The Shanghai regional collaborative group also achieved good results using a compound dan shen formula (dan shen, agarwood) to treat this disease.