Journal of ethnopharmacology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical study on the efficacy and safety of Shenmai injection in patients with chronic heart failure.
Shenmai injection (SMI) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine extracted from Panax ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey, steamed and dry) and Ophiopogon japonicus (Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f.) Ker-Gawl, root). It has been widely used for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) in China. However, the evidence supporting its effects remains unclear due to lack of high quality trials. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of SMI in CHF patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). ⋯ The integrative treatment with standard medicines plus SMI can further improve NYHA functional classification for patients with CHF and CAD. Therefore, SMI could be recommended in the combination therapy for CHF accompanied with CAD.