Effects of the Kampo medication keishibukuryogan on blood pressure in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of keishibukuryogan (TJ-25)—a medicine of the Kampo tradition (the Japanese adaptation of Chinese herbal medicine)—on middle-aged women with high blood pressure.MethodsThe records of 77 peri- and postmenopausal women with high-normal blood pressure or hypertension were analyzed retrospectively. The women had participated in the Systematic Health and Nutrition Education Program at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo, Japan, and had received education only (controls; n = 47) or education and treatment with TJ-25 (n = 30).ResultsThe baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were comparable. After approximately 6 months, women in the TJ-25 group showed significant reductions in their systolic blood pressure (from 148.4 mm Hg to 134.8 mm Hg), diastolic blood pressure (from 89.7 mm Hg to 83.7 mm Hg), pulse rate (from 79.5 beats/min to 73.5 beats/min), and resting energy expenditure (from 1552 kcal/day to 1373 kcal/day). Several menopausal symptoms including perspiration, difficulty in initiating sleep, nonrestorative sleep, and headaches/dizziness were also improved. In addition, women in the TJ-25 group had increased health-related quality of life scores in the domains of physical health and life satisfaction.ConclusionTJ-25 alleviates menopausal symptoms and concurrently lowers the blood pressure of middle-aged women with high blood pressure.