Songling Xuemaikang capsules (SXC), a Chinese herbal formula, is noninferior to losartan in treating patients with mild hypertension, according to a new study in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
The analysis included data from 628 patients with mild essential hypertension who were assigned to take either SXC or losartan. Of that group, 300 patients from the SXC group and 302 patients from the losartan group were evaluated and compared to one another.
Data was from seven centers throughout China. All patients received treatment from January 2016 to June 2017. The mean patient age was 52.5 years old, and 53% of patients were women.
In the full analysis set population, the change in sitting diastolic blood pressure from baseline to eight weeks was comparable in the SXC and losartan groups. Clinically meaningful BP reductions were realized in both treatment groups after eight weeks.
In addition, at eight weeks, the SXC patients had a notably greater decrease in their total hypertension symptom scores than the losartan group.
There were also no significant differences between groups when it came to patient-reported outcomes or severe adverse events.
“This Chinese herbal medicine might be an optimal alternative treatment for mild essential hypertension,” wrote first author Xinxing Lai, MD, a specialist at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues.
Read the full study here.