Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Qishen Granules Among Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Inclusion Criteria: 1. age between 18 and 75 years; 2. clinical findings of CHF for at least 3 months prior to screening; 3. CHF caused by coronary heart disease and hypertension, which is diagnosed according to the Chinese guidelines published in 2014 for the diagnosis and management of CHF; 4. clinically stable condition with an NYHA functional class of II to III and an optimal medical treatment with a fixed dosage for at least 2 weeks; 5. a documented left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40% and a serum NT-proBNP level ≥450 pg/ml; 6. CHF of Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome; 7. provision of written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. CHF complicated with severe valvular disease, congenital heart disease, pericardial disease, cardiomyopathy, unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction(in recent 4 weeks), cardiogenic shock, acute myocarditis, infective endocarditis, uncontrolled severe cardiac arrhythmia with hemodynamic changes; 2. pulmonary heart disease, pulmonary hypertension caused by acute or chronic pulmonary embolism or cerebral apoplexy in recent 6 months; 3. severe hepatic inadequacy with alanine aminotransferase or alkaline phosphatase levels \>2 times the upper normal limit, renal inadequacy with a creatinine clearance rate\>20% or a serum creatinine level\>3mg/dl (\>265μmol/L), severe electrolyte imbalance, severe hematologic disease, malignant tumor, diabetes mellitus with severe complications, or severe endocrine diseases such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism; 4. acute infection confirmed by any one of the following 3 tips: 1) fever; 2) a white blood cell count\>10×109/L and a percentage of neutrophils\>85%; 3) shadows on chest X-ray; 5. uncontrolled blood pressure or fibrosis in other organs; 6. CHF of yin deficiency according to TCM syndrome differentiation; 7. pregnancy or breastfeeding; 8. psychiatric or infectious disease; 9. patients who have participated in other clinical trials in the past two months.