[Effects of Songling Xuemaikang Capsule on ambulatory blood pressure in treatment of essential hypertension: a single-blind randomized controlled trial]

OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of Western medicine including Ca(2+) channel antagonist and angiotensin-receptor antagonist combined with Songling Xuemaikang Capsule (SXC), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for calming liver and suppressing liver yang, on blood pressure indexes derived from 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and to evaluate the effects and stability of SXC in lowering blood pressure. METHODS Seventy patients with essential hypertension of grade 2 or grade 3 were randomly assigned to routine group and SXC group. There were 35 cases in each group. The patients in the routine group were administered with 2.5 mg levoamlodipine and 40 mg telmisartan once daily, and 1.5 g SXC was administered orally to the patients in the SXC group three times daily besides levoamlodipine and telmisartan treatment. They were all treated for two weeks. Twenty-four-hour ABPM, trough to peak ratio and smoothness index were measured before and after the treatment. RESULTS Twenty-four-hour, day and night average systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 24-hour, day and night SBP load in the two groups were lowered as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The effects of Western medicine combined with SXC on blood pressure depression were better than those of Western medicine (P < 0.05). Western medicine combined with SXC had a significant influence on diastolic blood pressure (DBP) as compared with Western medicine (P < 0.05). The heart rate in the SXC group was reduced as compared with before treatment and the routine group (P < 0.05). Trough to peak ratio in SXC group was higher than that in the routine group, while there was no significant difference in smoothness index between the two groups. Morning surge in blood pressure in the two groups was improved as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05), and there was a significant difference in morning surge in blood pressure between the two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Western medicine combined with SXC has long-lasting effects in lowering heart rate and blood pressure, especially for SBP and SBP load. SXC plus Western medicine also has an inhibition effect on morning surge in blood pressure.