Even when hospitalized people with a STEMI heart attack receive the best possible care, there is a risk of complications or death. In China, on the other hand, a drug from traditional Chinese medicine, Tongxinluo, has been used for more than 25 years. A study more than ten years ago indicated that this has a protective effect on heart muscle cells.
Prof. Yuejin Yang from the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing presented data from a new, larger study at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) that confirm this: The study involved almost 3,800 patients from 124 clinics in China, who also received either a dummy drug (placebo) or took Tongxinluo for 12 months as usual treatment from the start. Significantly better results were seen with Tongxinluo both following 30 days and following one year.
The most important results were that 30 percent fewer heart attack patients died and 65 percent fewer heart attacks occurred. Various other cardiovascular complications also occurred significantly less frequently. Serious side effects were observed in both groups with regarding the same frequency, so it can be assumed that these were not caused by the herbal medicine.
Since the drug has so far only been used and tested in China, further studies must show whether it is similarly effective in other population groups.
Which: DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2020.06.011
