Author(s)

Qiu Siwen ^1,2, Ju Tongle ³, Li Jing ^1,2

Affiliation(s)

¹ The First Clinical Medical College, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
² Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
³ Yan'an Medical College, Yan'an University, Yan'an, Shaanxi, China

Corresponding Author

Li Jing

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study is to systematically evaluate the efficacy of formulas based on the "Qi Deficiency and Phlegm Stasis" theory combined with Western medicine in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) and their effect on atherosclerosis-related factors. The method applied in this paper is searched CNKI, Chongqing VIP Database, Wanfang Database, CBM, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase for randomized controlled trials on the combination therapy, and the literature was included according to the inclusion criteria of this study, and the risk bias was evaluated. We use RevMan 5.4 and STATA 18.0 software to combine and analyze all the data to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the combination therapy and its impact on atherosclerosis-related indicators. As a result, a total of 32 RCTs involving 3,142 patients were included, and the meta-analysis results showed that the group receiving the qi-tonifying, blood-activating, and phlegm-resolving formula combined with Western medicine has advantages in improving clinical efficacy, angina efficacy, electrocardiogram efficacy, and traditional Chinese medicine symptom efficacy, and in reducing triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, as well as increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. The combination therapy is better than Western medicine alone, with statistical significance. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the improvement of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Regarding safety, 20 RCTs reported adverse events, and no significant difference was found between the two groups. The curative effect of the combination therapy is superior, but due to the quality limitations of the included studies, more rigorously designed and larger-scale RCTs are needed for further verification.

KEYWORDS

Coronary heart disease, Atherosclerosis, Meta-analysis

CITE THIS PAPER

Qiu Siwen, Ju Tongle, Li Jing. Efficacy of Chinese Medicine Formulae Combined with Western Medicine for Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis Based on the "Qi Deficiency and Phlegm Stasis" Theory. MEDS Chinese Medicine (2026). Vol. 8, No. 1, 37-53. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/medcm.2026.080106.

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