Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Guanxin Danshen Dripping Pill (GXDSDP) in treating anxiety and depression in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
Methods: A total of 1,428 patients diagnosed with CHD screened for anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QOL) at baseline received 0.4 g of GXDSDP treatment 3 times per day and returned for monthly reassessment. Patients were recruited after stable treatment for CHD and received assessment of General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) for evaluating anxiety, depression, and QOL. Patients were followed up 3 times, once every 4 weeks, during outpatient visits for 12 weeks.
Results: At the third follow-up (F3), the anxiety symptom of 63.79% (673/1,055) of the patients improved to sub-clinical level, and the GAD-7 score improved significantly (8.11 vs. 3.87, P<0.01); 57.52% (585/1,017) patients' depressive symptoms improved to sub-clinical level, with a significant improvement in PHQ-9 score (8.69 vs. 4.41, P<0.01) at F3. All aspects of QOL significantly improved at the end of treatment compared to those at baseline (all P<0.01) as assessed by SAQ: physical limitation (31.17 vs. 34.14), anginal stability (2.74 vs. 4.14), anginal frequency (8.16 vs. 9.10), treatment satisfaction (13.43 vs. 16.29), and disease perception (8.69 vs. 11.02).
Conclusions: A fixed dosage of GXDSDP may be a potential treatment option for CHD patients comorbid with anxiety or depression. (Registration No. ChiCTR2100051523).
Keywords: Chinese medicine; Guanxin Danshen Dripping Pill; anxiety; coronary heart disease; depression; quality of life.
© 2023. The Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.