Advantages, Disadvantages, and Trend of Integrative Medicine in the Treatment of Heart Failure

Integrative medicine therapy using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with western medicine has shown some advantages in treating heart failure (HF), such as holistic concept; multi-target treatment; dialectical logic; personalized therapy; formulae compatibility; and reduction of side effects of western medicine. However, problems still exist in TCM treatment of HF, including non-uniformed categorization of TCM, lack of standardized syndrome differentiation and lack of an evidence base. The future of treatment of HF seems to be focused on reversing ventricular remodeling, improving cardiac rehabilitation, and accelerating experimental research and drug discovery in TCM.