Objective: The possibility of the preventive and therapeutic effects of Chinese traditional patent medicine for myocardial infarction has been reported in the literature, but there have been few studies. This paper presents three tendencies for the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction and presents a systematic evaluation of current research evidence related to the use of Chinese traditional patent medicine in secondary prevention of myocardial infarction, with a goal of making objective recommendations for patient rehabilitation.
Method: Literature was retrieved from traditional Chinese medicine websites, MEDLINE, CNKI, VIP, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, and Academic ASAP to locate research-based scientific evidence related to the use of Chinese traditional patent medicine for myocardial infarction.
Results: Some Chinese traditional patent medicine therapies alone or in combination with routine rehabilitation therapies might be useful in patients with myocardial infarction, but we found insufficient evidence to support the use of most Chinese traditional patent medicine therapies in the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction.
Conclusion: Difficulty in accessing information regarding traditional Chinese medicine has implications for health education in both myocardial infarction and patient safety. Some Chinese traditional patent medicine therapies hold promise for patients in the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction but further research is essential in all areas of traditional Chinese medicine to confirm its efficacy.
© 2009 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University.