You might think all heart attacks are equally life-threatening, but ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) tend to be more severe and dangerous. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “It gets its name from how it mainly affects the heart’s lower chambers and changes how electrical current travels through them … [and] usually indicates a total blockage of the involved coronary artery.”
Important new study findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)1 suggest the TCM medicine Tongxinluo, “which means ‘to open (tong) the network (luo) of the heart (xin),’” and is “composed of powders and extracts from multiple plant and insect products,”* can improve clinical outcomes in STEMI patients in conjunction with guideline-directed care.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial included nearly 3,800 patients who received either Tongxinluo or placebo for one year (loading dose of 2.08 g after randomization, followed by maintenance dose of 1.04 g, three times daily). All patients had been diagnosed with STEMI within 24 hours of symptom onset at 124 hospitals in China.
In assessing the primary outcome measure - 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerbrovascular events (MACCEs), with follow-up assessments every three months for one year, researchers found that patients assigned to receive Tongxinluo in conjunction with guideline-directed care had lower rates of 30-day, three-month and one-year MACCEs compared to placebo-group patients who received guideline-directed care only. While adverse drug reactions (GI symptoms) were higher in the TCM vs. placebo arm (2.1% vs. 1.1%), reactions requiring treatment were essentially equivalent (nine patients in the Tongxinluo arm vs. eight patients in the placebo arm).
*The researchers note, "Despite the clinical benefit demonstrated in this trial, the active ingredient(s) and the exact mechanism of action remain to be established. ... Further research is needed to determine the mechanism of action of Tongxinluo in STEMI."
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