title: Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, which is related to many cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases, especially stroke. It can therefore increase cardiovascular mortality and all-cause death. The current treatments of AF remain to be western drugs and radiofrequency ablation which are limited by the tolerance of patients, adverse side effects, and high recurrence rate, especially for the elderly. On the contrary, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with long history of use involves various treatment methods, including Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) or bioactive ingredients, Chinese patent medicines, acupuncture, Qigong, and Tai Chi Chuan. With more and more researches reported, the active roles of TCM in AF management have been discovered. Then it is likely that TCM would be effective preventive means and valuable additional remedy for AF. The potential mechanisms further found by numerous experimental studies showed the distinct characteristics of TCM. Some CHMs or bioactive ingredients are atrial-selective, while others are multichannel and multifunctional. Therefore, in this review we summarized the treatment strategies reported in TCM, with the purpose of providing novel ideas and directions for AF management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiangquan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8445-0433
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kuiwu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenrui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7870-0646
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang