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Correspondence| Volume 203, P614-615, January 15, 2016

The Chinese herb extract Wenxin Keli: A promising agent for the management of atrial fibrillation

  • Yang Liu
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
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  • Zhiwei Zhang
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
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  • Yajuan Yang
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
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  • Nixiao Zhang
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
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  • Guangping Li
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
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  • Tong Liu
    Correspondence
    Corresponding author at: Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300211, People's Republic of China.
    Affiliations
    Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China
    Search for articles by this author
Published:October 27, 2015DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.10.211
The Chinese herb extract Wenxin Keli: A promising agent for the management of atrial fibrillation
Previous ArticleIncidence and prevalence of pulmonary arterial hypertension in Germany
Next ArticleStress from myasthenic crisis triggers Takotsubo (broken heart) syndrome
      Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac rhythm disturbance, rising in prevalence with age. An estimated 2.5 million people in North America and 4.5 million in Europe are attacked by AF, which is responsible for largish morbidity and mortality. Although radiofrequency and cryo-ablation therapy have been widely used in the management of AF, antiarrhythmic drugs remain as the first-line therapy for rhythm control of AF [
      • Chugh S.S.
      • Havmoeller R.
      • Narayanan K.
      • Singh D.
      • Rienstra M.
      • Benjamin E.J.
      • et al.
      Worldwide epidemiology of atrial fibrillation: a global burden of disease 2010 study.
      Circulation. Feb 25 2014; 129: 837-847
      ,
      • Ferrari R.
      • Bertini M.
      • Blomstrom-Lundqvist C.
      • Dobrev D.
      • Kirchhof P.
      • Pappone C.
      • et al.
      An update on atrial fibrillation in 2014: from pathophysiology to treatment.
      Int. J. Cardiol. Oct 18 2015; 203: 22-29
      ]. Wenxin Keli (WXKL) is a traditional Chinese herb extract with anti-arrhythmic effects, which is composed of five components: Nardostachys chinensis Batal extract (NcBe), Codonopsis, Notoginseng, amber, and Rhizoma Polygonati. In clinical practice, WXKL can markedly improve the patients' symptoms including palpitations, chest tightness, fatigue, insomnia, and others and that it have significant effects on ameliorating different types of arrhythmias including atrial and ventricular premature contractions and sinus tachycardia [
      • Hua W.
      • Gao R.L.
      • Zhao B.C.
      • Wang J.
      • Chen X.H.
      • Cai C.
      • et al.
      The efficacy and safety of Wenxin Keli in patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial.
      Chin. Med. J. 5th Oct 2015; 128: 2557-2564
      ,
      • Brenyo A.
      • Aktas M.K.
      Review of complementary and alternative medical treatment of arrhythmias.
      Am. J. Cardiol. Mar 1 2014; 113: 897-903
      ]. Previous study [
      • Xue X.
      • Guo D.
      • Sun H.
      • Wang D.
      • Li J.
      • Liu T.
      • et al.
      Wenxin Keli suppresses ventricular triggered arrhythmias via selective inhibition of late sodium current.
      Pacing Clin. Electrophysiol. Jun 2013; 36: 732-740
      ] has shown that Wenxin Keli suppressed early after depolarizations (EADs), delayed after depolarizations (DADs), and triggered ventricular arrhythmias through selective inhibition of late INa that is proved to contribute to arrhythmogenesis. Also, Xing et al. [
      • Xing Y.
      • Gao Y.
      • Chen J.
      • Zhu H.
      • Wu A.
      • Yang Q.
      • et al.
      Wenxin-Keli regulates the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II signal transduction pathway and inhibits cardiac arrhythmia in rats with myocardial infarction.
      Evid. Based Complement. Alternat. Med. 2013; 2013: 464508
      ] demonstrated that WXKL prevented heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias through a potential mechanism involving the regulation of the CaMKII signal transduction pathway. WXKL has been found to inhibit the Ca2+ transient amplitude in ISO-stimulated cardiac myocytes, WXKL increased both the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ content and the calcium transient amplitude in isolated cardiac myocytes from rats with myocardial infarction, while also significantly decreased the incidence of EADs and DADs in these isolated cardiac myocytes. In addition, WXKL markedly reduced the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in vivo rat myocardial infarction model.

      Keyword

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      References

        • Chugh S.S.
        • Havmoeller R.
        • Narayanan K.
        • Singh D.
        • Rienstra M.
        • Benjamin E.J.
        • et al.
        Worldwide epidemiology of atrial fibrillation: a global burden of disease 2010 study.
        Circulation. Feb 25 2014; 129: 837-847
        View in Article
        • Ferrari R.
        • Bertini M.
        • Blomstrom-Lundqvist C.
        • Dobrev D.
        • Kirchhof P.
        • Pappone C.
        • et al.
        An update on atrial fibrillation in 2014: from pathophysiology to treatment.
        Int. J. Cardiol. Oct 18 2015; 203: 22-29
        View in Article
        • Hua W.
        • Gao R.L.
        • Zhao B.C.
        • Wang J.
        • Chen X.H.
        • Cai C.
        • et al.
        The efficacy and safety of Wenxin Keli in patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial.
        Chin. Med. J. 5th Oct 2015; 128: 2557-2564
        View in Article
        • Brenyo A.
        • Aktas M.K.
        Review of complementary and alternative medical treatment of arrhythmias.
        Am. J. Cardiol. Mar 1 2014; 113: 897-903
        View in Article
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        • Guo D.
        • Sun H.
        • Wang D.
        • Li J.
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        • et al.
        Wenxin Keli suppresses ventricular triggered arrhythmias via selective inhibition of late sodium current.
        Pacing Clin. Electrophysiol. Jun 2013; 36: 732-740
        View in Article
        • Xing Y.
        • Gao Y.
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        View in Article

      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: October 27, 2015
      Accepted: October 26, 2015
      Received: October 24, 2015

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.10.211

      Copyright

      © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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