The theoretical innovation and new drug research on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases by activating blood circulation has been one of the most active and outstanding achievements in the field of integrated Chinese and western medicine for the past 60 years. Research on blood stasis syndrome (BSS) and activating blood circulation (ABC) was the first to be awarded the first prize of National Award for Science and Technology Progress in Chinese Medicine since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The research team headed by prof. Keji CHEN has obtained abundant research achievements. Taking coronary heart disease, a major clinical cardiovascular disease as the entry point, the team explored the development of the diagnostic criteria for the combination of BSS, the interpretation of the modern connotation of ABC, the development of a series of new drugs for ABC, clinical efficacy evaluation and mechanism of its action. It promotes the standardization and internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine and forms high-quality evidence for clinical transformation. It has also made outstanding contributions to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases with original features. In this paper, the history of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases by ABC after the founding of the People's Republic of China was reviewed. The representative research findings of several domestic academic teams, including prof. Keji CHEN's team, over the past 60 years were expounded emphatically so as to provide reference for promoting and innovating research in activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis.