Hypertension is a common disease among the middle-aged and elderly people. It is also one of the important risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) . In order to study the effectiveness of qigong therapy in treating CHD, comparison of clinical and experimental study of 120 cases of hypertension incorporated with CHD was performed. The paper presents the results of a preliminary study of this subject.
1. 120 cases of hypertension with CHD who had consistently taken anti-hypertension drugs were divided randomly into the qigong group (qigong with small dosage of routine anti-hypertension drug N=60)and the control group(with routine anti-hypertension drug N=60 only) . There was a comparability in age, sex, course, blood pressure, retinopathy, ECG manifestation, as well as administration of anti-hypertension drug. After one year treatment, in the qigong group blood pressure in 86.7% cases went down, 62.6% showed relief of clinical symptoms. ECG manifestation improved in 52.6% cases, while in the control group, they were 65.0 %, 34.8 % and 22.2 % respectively (P<0.05—0.001 ) . The result suggests that qigong is effective to hypertension with CHD.
2. Systolic time interval (STI) was measured in 30 hypertensive patients with coronary heart disease. Before practising qigong, the mean cardiac output (CO) was decreased, but the mean total peripheral resistance (TPR) and ratio of PEF / LVP were increased. After practising qigong for one year, the observed results showed that CO was increased, TPR was decreased, and the ratio of FEF/LVEFP tended to be normal. Ultrasonic cardiogram (UCG) was also performed on 30 patients. Before practising qigong, the Ejection Fraction (EF) and mean velocity of circumferential fiber lengthening (mvcf) was decreased. After one year's qigong practice, the EF and mvcf tended to be increased.
The results mentioned above indicate that qigong has a regulatory effect on haemodynamiC alteration as well as on improvement of the left ventricular function.
3. Before and after 6 months practice of qigong, plasma Dopamine-ß-Hydroxylase activity (DBH) was measured in 20 hypertensive patients. Before treatment mean plasma DBH activity was 19.67±1.45 Iµ, after 6 months of practising qigong, mean plasma DBH activity was 18.27± 50 Iµ. (P < 0. 05) . It suggests that qigong can reduce the excitability of sympathetic nervous activity.
4. Before and after qigong practice for 6 months, blood viscosity and platelet aggregate were measured in 30 hypertensive patients. After 6 months of practising qigong, plasma TC and Ch concentration were decreased, while plasma HDL-c level was increased significantly.
5. Plasma testosterone (T) and estrediol (F2) were measured by radio-immunoassay in 58 male patients with hypertension. These patients were divided into the qigong group (N=34) and the control group (N=24) . After treatment (one year), the result was quite different between the two groups, indicating that qigong has a definite regulatory effect on abnormal sex hormones.
According to our past and present investigations, we believe that qigong plays a major role in improving the heart function and relieving the multiple cardiovascular risk factors and is an effective measure for preventing and treating CHD.
