China lacks large scale authorized epidemiological study results in allusion to
subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) within recent 15 years since MONICA (multinational monitoring of trends and determinants in
cardiovascular disease) study revealed SAH situation in China in 2000. The main cause of SAH in China is
aneurysm which takes up 30-50%, while over 90%
aneurysm locates at Willis circle. Early surgery for SAH after
aneurysm rupture is the dominant procedure to deal with SAH in China. Moreover,
calcium antagonists rank the absolute leading position for cerebral vascular
spasm (CVS) among medication-based treatment options. However,
traditional Chinese medicine such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, Acanthopanax senticosus, Ginkgo biloba, Pueraria lobata, Liguisticum chuanxiong, cow
bezoar, Diospyros kaki and Gynostemma pentaphyllum have been proven beneficial in CVS prevention and treatment, while Salvia miltiorrhiza and TCM soup have unique effects on
bleeding absorption. In addition, aescine and some TCM soup might relieve strong
headache after SAH. In general, TCM integrated with western medicine have shown unique advantages in the current treatment of SAH in China. However, it is a pity that China still lacks larger scale randomized controlled trials and research on SAH treatment focusing on TCM and the related mechanism of TCM on SAH still need to be investigated further.