OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of Shenmai Injection (SMI) on left ventricular diastolic function (LVDF) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).

METHODSSixty-four CHF patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the observation group and the control group. Basic treatment including polarized liquid therapy was given to all the patients. In addition, SMI was given to patients of the observation group. The treatment duration was 14 days. TDI was performed in all the patients 3 days prior to the initiation of the treatment and one week after the medication to measure the average movement velocity of the mitral ring of the left ventricle at the early systolic stage and late diastolic stage (Ea and Aa); the outcomes were compared with the corresponding parameters obtained from blood flow Doppler echocardiography, namely, the velocity of the E-wave (E) and A-wave (A).

RESULTSAfter treatment, Ea and Ea/Aa increased and Aa decreased significantly in the observation group (P<0.05). In the control group, although some improvement was seen, there was no statistically significant change (P>0.05). No statistical significance was shown between groups in these parameters after treatment.

CONCLUSIONTDI assessment shows that SMI could effectively improve the LVDF in CHF patients.