Objective To investigate the relationship between serum human soluble growth-stimulated expression gene 2（ sST2） level

traditional Chinese medicine（ TCM） syndrome type and cardiac function grading in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Methods A total of 116 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy（ test group） and 26 healthy cases（ control group） were selected. The syndromes of the test group were divided into 4 types: qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome

intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome

qi and yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome

and water overflowing due to yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. The cardiac function was graded into Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Ⅲ and Ⅳ level. The sST2 levels were measured and compared between patients with different syndrome types

different cardiac function grading patients and control subjects. Results Among 116 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy

there were 11 qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome

30 intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome

43 qi and yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome

32 water overflowing due to yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. For cardiac function

there were 21 cases of cardiac function grade Ⅱ

55 cases of grade Ⅲ and 40 cases of grade Ⅳ. The serum sST2 level of the test group was 1790. 25（ 1238. 27

2168. 96） pg/ml

which was significantly higher than that of the control group of 733. 32（ 592. 23

854. 60） pg/ml（ P

<

0. 01）. The serum sST2 level of patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome was lower than that of patients with qi and yin deficiency blood stasis syndrome and water overflowing due to yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome（ P

<

0. 05）. The serum sST2 level of patients with water overflowing due to yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome was higher than that of patients with intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome and qi and yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome（ P

<

0. 05）; There was no significant difference in serum sST2 levels between patients with intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome and patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis（ P

>

0. 05）. There were differences in the distribution of cardiac function between the TCM syndrome types in the test group（ χ

2

= 33. 466

P

<

0. 05）. Serum sST2 level in patients with cardiac function grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ was higher than that in patients with cardiac function grade Ⅱ（ P

<

0. 05）. Serum sST2 level in patients with cardiac function grade Ⅳ was higher than that in patients with cardiac function grade Ⅲ（ P

<

0. 05）. Conclusion The worse the cardiac function of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy is

the higher the serum sST2 level is

and the serum sST2 level increases with the evolution of type of qi deficiency and blood stasis to type of qi and yin deficiency and blood stasis and type of water overflowing due to yang deficiency.