Abstract: Objective A systematic evaluation of the clinical efficacy of enhanced extracorporeal counterpulsation technique combined with traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of chronic heart failure using reticulation meta-analysis. Methods A thorough search was conducted across PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang database, China Knowledge Network, and Wikipedia library. All Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) up to March 31, 2023, examining the combined use of EECP technique and TCM in the treatment of chronic heart failure were scrutinized and studied. All data was processed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results Fifteen studies were ultimately included, encompassing a total of 1,265 patients. The outcomes showed that: ① In the experimental group, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) performed better (95%CI: 3.72~9.47, P<0.001);② The results of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) were also superior to the control group (95%CI: 27.62~65.99, P<0.001);③ N-terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) was lower in the experimental group compared to the control group (95%CI: -353.25~-18.61, P=0.03);④ Cardiac function was more efficacious than that of the control group (95%CI: 1.01~1.50, P=0.04);⑤ The efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine was superior to the control group (95%CI: 1.05~1.38, P=0.009);⑥ Nitric Oxide (NO) levels increased compared to the control group (95%CI: 1.34~23.04, P=0.03);⑦ Overall clinical efficacy was also superior to the control group (95%CI: 1.11~1.30, P<0.001). Conclusion Adding EECP and TCM to a solely Western medical treatment regimen has shown improvements in LVEF, 6MWT, cardiac function, the efficacy of TCM, NO levels, and overall clinical efficacy. It also effectively reduced the levels of NT-proBNP in patients with chronic heart failure.

Key words: enhanced external counterpulsation, traditional chinese medicine, chronic heart failure, network Meta-analysis