Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of theophylline sustained-release tablets in treatment of dyspnea in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients after administration of ticagrelor. Methods A total of 100 CHD patients who experienced breathing difficulty but had clear consciousness and normal comprehension after taking ticagrelor in the Department of Cardiology of our hospital from March 2018 to February 2019 were enrolled in the study. They were randomly divided into theophylline group and control group, with 50 cases in each group. Both groups were given anti-platelet aggregation and statins to stabilize plaque and improve heart ischemia. Theophylline sustained-release tablets were given to the theophylline group on the basis of the above treatment, 0.1 g orally, vitamin C were given to the control group, 1 g orally, twice a day for 1 month. Serum adenosine levels, score of clinical symptoms of dyspnea, modified British Medical Research Association dyspnea scale (mMRC), pulmonary function indicators, respiratory failure and incidence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) were compared between the 2 groups. SPSS statistics 19.0 was used for data analysis. Results The theophylline group had significantly lower serum adenosine concentration [(99.0±17.0) vs (160.0±30.0)μg/L], score of clinical symptom of dyspnea [(1.2±1.3) vs (6.5±1.7)], mMRC score [(1.0±0.7) vs (2.1±0.4)], forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) as a percentage of prediction [(85.2±5.3)% vs (76.9±7.0)%],FEV1/forced vital capacity [(89.3±3.9)% vs (77.9±4.4)%], and incidence of respiratory failure [2.0%(1/50) vs 18.8%(8/50)] when compared with the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of MACCE between the 2 groups [6.0%(3/50) vs 10.0%(5/50), P=0.715]. Conclusion Theophylline tablets effectively alleviate the dyspnea caused by ticagrelor, improve the ventilatory function, and have no effect on antiplatelet aggregation induced by ticagrelor in the CHD patients.