Observation on the Efficacy of Combined External Treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Intervening Hypertension with Kidney-Yang Deficiency by Regulating the RASS System

Objective: To observe the efficacy of combined external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in intervening hypertension with kidney-Yang deficiency by regulating the RASS system. Methods: A total of 61 patients with subacute hypertension and kidney-Yang deficiency admitted to our hospital from December 2024 to March 2025 were selected. The western medicine treatment group was treated with amlodipine benzenesulfonate and instructed to take antihypertensive western medicine regularly. The TCM external treatment group received auricular acupuncture, auricular point pressing with beans, and acupoint application based on the treatment of the Western medicine group. Laboratory indicators (including angiotensin II, aldosterone, and renin), blood pressure changes, and TCM syndrome scores were compared between the two groups after 4 weeks of treatment. Results: After treatment, there were no statistically significant differences in angiotensin II, aldosterone, and renin between the TCM external treatment group and the Western medicine treatment group (P < 0.05). There was no statistical significance in blood pressure measurements from the 1st to the 8th time between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the TCM external treatment group showed statistically significant differences between the 8th and 1st measurements (P < 0.05), while only systolic blood pressure in the western medicine treatment group showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The blood pressure in the TCM external treatment group decreased steadily from the 1st to the 8th measurement, whereas it did not decrease significantly in the Western medicine treatment group. The TCM external treatment group had significantly better scores in terms of headache and dizziness, cold limbs or back, frequent or involuntary nocturia, fatigue and laziness to speak, shortness of breath and weakness, and other TCM syndromes compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of TCM external treatment and Western medicine has a good antihypertensive effect in treating subacute hypertension with kidney-Yang deficiency and can effectively improve clinical symptoms.