Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of modified Danshen Yin on primary achalasia. Methods The 42 achalasia patients were randomized into two groups. The treatment group

24 cases

was treated by modified Danshen Yin and the control group

18 cases

by Nifedipine

for one week. The symptom scores of dysphagia

retrosternal pain and food regurgitation and the improvement of X-ray image were taken to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Results After treatment

both groups had improvement in the symptom scores

but the improvement of treatment group in dysphagia and food regurgitation was more significant. There was a significant difference of both groups in retrosternal pain before and after treatment （P<0.01）

showing a significant relieve of retrosternal pain in both groups. The total effective rate in treatment group was 87.5%

significantly better than that in control group

72.2% （P<0.01）. Conclusion Modified Danshen Yin is effective in treating primary achalasia

better than Nifedipine.