Abstract
Background and objectives: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) reportedly have a much higher risk of death due to stroke. Faced with this heavy burden, it remains unclear if the Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), the most common form complementary and alternative medicine, can lower the risk of stroke for them. This study aimed to evaluate the association of CHMs use with stroke risk among them. Materials and Methods: From a nationwide database, 11,456 AF patients aged ≧ 20 years between 1998 and 2007 were identified. Afterwards, we enrolled 2670 CHMs users and randomly selected 2670 non-CHMs users using the propensity score method. The occurrence of stroke was recorded until the end of 2012. Results: Within the follow-up period, 671 CHMs users and 900 non-CHMs users developed stroke, with incidence rates of 33.02 and 45.46 per 1000 person-years, respectively. CHMs use was associated with a 30% lower stroke risk, especially for those receiving CHMs for over two years. Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that adding CHMs to conventional therapy could decrease subsequent stroke risk for AF patients. It is also suggested that prospective randomized trials are needed to further clarify if the detected association revealed in this study supports a causal link, and to identify the specific CHMs that may be beneficial to AF patients.
Highlights
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common irregular cardiac rhythm disorder [1], which has been proven to exacerbate the risk for several cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases, especially strokes [2,3]
The incidence of stroke was lower among Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) users than among non-CHM users (33.02 vs. 45.46, respectively, per 1000 PYs), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of
This study revealed that the use of Fu Yuan Huo Xue Tang (FYHXT) and Tao He Cheng Qi Tang (THCQT) was associated with a reduced risk of stroke
Summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common irregular cardiac rhythm disorder [1], which has been proven to exacerbate the risk for several cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases, especially strokes [2,3]. Based on traditional Chinese medicine theory, the blood-invigorating and stasis-removing (BISR) herbal products are commonly used to prevent or treat stroke [10]. These medications include Dan Shen Decoction, Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang, and Shu Jing Huo Xue Tang, all of which may slow the heart rate or inhibit the platelet aggregation, and as such, enhance cardiovascular health [9,11]. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) reportedly have a much higher risk of death due to stroke Faced with this heavy burden, it remains unclear if the Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), the most common form complementary and alternative medicine, can lower the risk of stroke for them.
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