A Case of Congestive Heart Failure Controlled by the Addition of Sairei-to

Abstract

A 82-year-old patient with congestive heart failure visited our hospital complaining of dyspnea and orthopnea. Initially, treatment was given based on the western medicine. She responded very well to a diuretic, with her congestive heart failure improving in a relatively short period of time. However, she could not adhere to the restriction of water intake she was supposed to follow was hospitalized repeatedly. While she was in hospital, just rest and water restriction alone improved dyspnea. Although she was discharged from hospital and was given increased doses of a diuretic and a vasodilator, congestive heart failure recurred. Since there was moderate discomfort of the hypochondrium and disturbance of the body's fluid metabolism, we added Sairei-to to her treatment. Six weeks later, the discomfort of the hypochondrium cleared. Her appetite started to improve and she had less severe dryness of the mouth. she was therefore gradually able to follow the water restriction and has not had recurrence of heart failure since then. Although Moku-boi-to is frequently used in the treatment of heart failure, it is assumed that a formulation with a diuretic action such as Gorei-san was effective because heart failure represents a disturbance of the body's fluid metabolism.