Pogejiuxin Decoction Combination of Conventional Western Medicine for the Treatment of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

NT-proBNP, secreted by cardiac muscle cells, serves as a biomarker that reflects cardiac function. Under normal conditions, the body contains a small amount of NT-proBNP. However, in cases of heart failure, the levels of NT-proBNP increase, making it one of the indicators for diagnosing heart failure and assessing the effectiveness of heart failure treatment. The specific diagnostic criteria are as follows:

For patients under 50 years of age: over 450 ng/L; For patients aged from 50 to 75: over 900 ng/L; For patients over 75 years of age: over 1800 ng/L; For patients with impaired renal function (glomerular filtration rate over 60 mL/min): over 1200 ng/L.

Echocardiography is used to assess cardiac function. LVEF Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the most commonly used indicator to evaluate left ventricular systolic function in clinical practice. LVEF is calculated from the measurements of end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV), using the following formula:LVEF = (EDV - ESV) / EDV × 100%. An LVEF of less than 52% in males and less than 53% in females suggests abnormal left ventricular systolic function. An LVEF between 40% and 52% indicates mildly reduced left ventricular systolic function, 30% to 40% indicates moderately reduced function, and less than 30% indicates severely reduced function.

LVEDD and LVESD In males, a left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) over 55 mm and in females over 50 mm, and a left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) over 37 mm in males and over 35 mm in females, suggest left ventricular dilation and impaired left ventricular function.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is one of the most potent predictors of cardiovascular risk events, with the following clinical implications:

A level of under 1 mg/L indicates low risk; A level of 1-3 mg/L indicates moderate risk; A level above 3 mg/L indicates high risk.

Clinical practice has confirmed that levels of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 are elevated in patients with heart failure compared to the general population. These inflammatory factors can further exacerbate myocardial damage and participate in the process of ventricular remodeling. Therefore, monitoring TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 can be used to assess the condition of patients with heart failure. Elevated levels of TNF-α over 5 ng/L (bioactivity assay), IL-6 over 10 ng/L, and IL-8 over 21.3 μg/L (ELISA method) suggest the presence of inflammation in the body.

The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) is a widely used instrument for assessing health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure (HF). It evaluates quality life of patients across three domains: physical, emotional, and other. The questionnaire consists of 21 items, with responses rated on a scale from zero to five, indicating none (0 points), very little (1 point), a little (2 points), moderate (3 points), quite a bit (4 points), and severe (5 points). The scores of all items are summed up, with higher scores indicating poorer quality of life.

According to the Guiding Principles for Clinical Research of New Drugs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptoms are categorized into primary and secondary symptoms and are scored based on their severity. Primary symptoms include palpitations, fatigue, dyspnea, and lower limb edema, each rated on a scale of four levels: none (0 points), mild (2 points), moderate (4 points), and severe (6 points). Secondary symptoms include lethargy, abdominal distension, oliguria, spontaneous sweating, and dull complexion/cyanosis of lips and nails, each rated on a scale of four levels: none (0 points), mild (1 point), moderate (2 points), and severe (3 points). The total score from all items represents the TCM symptom score.The higher the score, the more severe the symptoms.