Objective: To quantitatively observe the effect of long-term use of Gingko biloba Tablet (GBT) on left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).
Methods: Eighty-four CHF patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the treatment group and the control group. All were treated with furosemide, spironolactone, and perindopril, but additional medication of GBT was given to the treatment group. The treatment lasted for 24 weeks. TDI measurement was performed at three time points, i. e. before treatment (T0), 12 weeks and 24 weeks after treatment (T1 and T2), by which, the peak velocity on 6 mitral annulus sites at systolic, early and late diastolic phase (V(S), V(E), V(A), V(E)/V(A)) was measured, and the average velocity on the 6 sites at the 3 phases (V(MS), V(ME), V(ME)/V(MA)) was calculated and analyzed.
Results: All measured data at T0 were not statistically different between the two groups (P > 0.05). As compared with the data measured at T0, V(MS), V(ME), V(ME)/V(MA) in the treatment group and V(ME) in the control group raised at T2, showing statistical significant differences (P < 0.05). Comparisons between groups showed that V(MS), V(ME) at T1 and V(MS), V(ME), V(MA), V(ME)/V(MA) at T2 were higher in the treatment group than in the control group respectively with statistical significance (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Long-term administration of GBT can significantly improve the left ventricular function in CHF patients.