Chinese herbal medicine combined with conventional therapy for blood pressure variability in hypertension patients : a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Objective. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate effect of Chinese medicine combined with conventional therapy on blood pressure variability (BPV) in hypertension patients. Methods. All randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing Chinese medicine with no intervention or placebo on the basis of conventional therapy were included. Data extraction, analyses, and quality assessment were performed according to the Cochrane standards. Results. We included 13 RCTs and assessed risk of bias for all the trials. Chinese medicine has a significant effect in lowering blood pressure (BP), reducing BPV in the form of standard deviation (SD) or coefficient of variability (CV), improving nighttime BP decreased rate, and reversing abnormal rhythm of BP. Conclusions. Chinese medicine was safe and showed beneficial effects on BPV in hypertension patients. However, more rigorous trials with high quality are warranted to give high level of evidence before recommending Chinese medicine as an alternative or complementary medicine to improve BPV in hypertension patients.