[Potential of using pattern diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine to improve the clinical use of antihypertensive agents].
Despite the availability of six classes of antihypertensive agents, control of blood pressure and improving patients' quality of life remain far from ideal. There is a wide variability in terms of the hypotensive effect and side effect profile for the same antihypertensive agent used in different patients. How to select the right agent to provide the most beneficial results in terms of efficacy and improvement of quality of life as well as to decrease clinical symptoms and minimize adverse reactions is an important therapeutic challenge. It has been suggested that clinical usage of pattern (Zheng) diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine may improve the accuracy in selecting the right antihypertensive agents with improved efficacy and deceased adverse effects. Limited research in this area suggested the calcium channel blocker may work better in treating phlegmatic damp excess pattern and blood stasis pattern while beta-blockers may be more beneficial in the liver yang rising pattern. On the other hand, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors may be more suitable in a yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity pattern as well as combined liver and kidney yin deficiency pattern. More research studies using this innovative approach in improving the selection of antihypertensive agents including mechanistic studies are urgently needed.
Gu
Wan-li
WL
National Integrated Center of Cardiovascular Disease, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing 100029, China.
Cao
Ying
Y
Shi
Zai-xiang
ZX
Hui
Ka-kit
KK
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D011788:Quality of Life; D016711:Yang Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy; D016710:Yin Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents