The pathological effects of sleep deprivation on coronary heart disease and treatment using Chinese medicine tranquilization.

Sleep deprivation is associated with the morbidity and mortality of coronary heart disease due to pathological factors including sympathetic activation, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, neuroendocrine dysfunction, oxidative stress, endothelial malfunction, inflammatory reaction, and glycolipid metabolism disorders. This article summarizes findings of traditional Chinese medicine tranquilization methods in different studies that indirectly treat coronary heart disease by removing the pathological factors of sleep deprivation. It has been suggested that the traditional Chinese medicine tranquilization methods improve the pathological factors of sleep deprivation with a multiple-component, multiple-target and multiple-pathway approach that may be a treatment for coronary heart disease, which also reflects the purpose of psycho-cardiology treatment.