Does taking Qishen Yiqi dropping pills plus Western medicine improve chronic heart failure efficacy?

Adding Qishen Yiqi dropping pills to standard Western medicine treatment improves clinical effectiveness and heart function in chronic heart failure patients. A randomized trial showed that the combination therapy led to higher overall success rates compared to Western medicine alone ⁴.

What the research says

One study compared patients receiving only standard Western medicine against those receiving Qishen Yiqi dropping pills plus Western medicine ⁴. The group taking both treatments had a total effective rate of 91.67%, compared to 70% for the group taking Western medicine alone ⁴. This difference was statistically significant ⁴.

The combination therapy also improved specific heart measurements. Patients taking the pills alongside Western medicine showed a reduction in left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters ⁴. Their left ventricular ejection fraction, a measure of pumping strength, also increased ⁴.

Other research in chronic heart failure shows that adding certain therapies can improve outcomes. For example, mind-body exercises like Yijinjing have been shown to improve quality of life and heart function ³. Similarly, treatments for anemia can increase exercise tolerance and lower heart failure class ². However, not all alternative approaches show benefit; a review found that alternative loop diuretics did not reduce mortality compared to standard furosemide ¹.

What to ask your doctor

• How does adding Qishen Yiqi dropping pills to my current Western medicine regimen affect my specific heart function measurements?
• What are the potential side effects or interactions between Qishen Yiqi dropping pills and the medications I am currently taking?
• Is there clinical trial evidence supporting the use of this specific combination for my type of chronic heart failure?
• How will we measure improvement in my quality of life if I add this treatment to my plan?