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Healthphone.com's Healing Centre Panel of professional Chinese doctors,
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accepts no legal responsibility nor liability for any errors or
omissions. The information in this section is presented as is, for
educational purposes only. As with any medical matter, always
consult your healthcare professional before acting on any health-related
information.
Coronary heart disease is the abbreviation of
coronary atherosclerotic (degenerative disease of the
arteries) heart disease. The incidence is high in all
the countries especially in the developed countries. The
risk factors for coronary heart disease are hypertension
(high blood pressure), hyperlipemia (excess fat in the
blood) , diabetes mellitus and cigarette smoking.
According to the diagnostic criteria made by WHO,
coronary heart disease can be divided into: (a) Primary
sudden cardiac arrest;
(b) Angina pectoris;
(c) Myocardial infarction;
(d) Heart failure due to coronary heart disease;
(e) Arrhythmia.(Irregular heartbeat) Angina pectoris and
myocardial infarction are more often seen. So in this
section only angina pectoris and myocardial infarction
are described. This disease, in TCM, pertains to the
categoris of ?xiong bi?(obstruction of qi in the chest),
?Xiong tong?(chest pain) ?zhen xin tong?(myocardiac
infarction) and 衠ue xin tong?(pericardial pain with cold
limbs).
Myocardial infarction is the death of heart
muscle due to lack of blood supply to the muscle.
Myocardial infarction can be complicated by arrhythmia,
heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. In severe cases or
in patients who are not treated in time, death usually
ensues.
(a) Premonitory symptoms of myocardial infarction:
Some patients may have premonitory symptoms for a
period of time prior to the onset of myocardial
infarction. The patients may have frequent episodes
of angina pectoris (chest pain), which last longer
and are more severe or are accompanied by nausea,
vomiting and arrhythmia. The episodes cannot be
relieved by placing nitroglycerin tablet under the
tongue. But many patients do not have premonitory
symptoms prior to the episode.
(b) Clinical manifestation of myocardial infarction
: Retrosternal or pericardial persistent pain occurs
suddenly with a sensation of oppression. The pain
may radiate to the neck and left shoulder. The
patients commonly have profuse sweating, anxiety,
pallor, thready pulse and lowering of blood
pressure. In some senile patients, the pain may not
be obvious but confusional state, shock and heart
failure are commonly seen.
(c) In acute myocardial infarction the
electrocardiogram (ECG) shows specific changes: In
acute stage all the leads relevant to the site of
infarction show arcuate elevation of ST segments,
inversion of T waves and appearance of pathologic Q
waves. Subsequently, as the disease becomes better,
the electrocardiogram undergoes stereotyped changes.
(d) Serum enzyme studies are very valuable for the
diagnosis of acute myocardiac infarction. Their
accuracies are high. Creatinine phosphokinase (CPK)
and MB isoenzyme are very valuable for diagnosing
early myocardial infarction. Serum glutamic
oxalacetic transiaminase (SGOT), lactic
dehydrogenase (LDH) and isoenzymes are of value in
the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. In addition,
the examinations of leukocyte count; blood sugar and
serum myoglobin are also helpful for diagnosis and
the prognosis of the disease.
Promoting blood circulation and removing stasis by
herbal medication to treat CHD has obtained effect. The
clinical researches demonstrated that the mortality due
to myocardial infarction was lower with the combined
treatment of TCM and Western medicine as compared to
Western medicine alone.
This ailment,
according to TCM, has different syndromes. The treatment for
these syndromes using herbal medicine and acupuncture is shown
below.
Syndrome (a)
Obstruction of the
chest-yang
Oppressed feeling in the chest, paroxysmal (attacks of)
chest pain with palpitation (noticeable and irregular
heartbeat) and shortness of breath often brought out by
the attack of cold, white greasy fur of the tongue, and
taut pulse.
To treat byHerbal
medicine Therapeutic principle: By using herbal medicine
you can warm up and benefit the chest-yang to remove
obstruction of blood flow in the heart-vessels.
Sharp pain in the chest radiating to the shoulder and
back, stuffy sensation in the chest and shortness of
breath, deep purple tongue with ecchymoses (purple
mottling of skin), taut or uneven pulse.
To treat by Herbal
medicine Therapeutic principle: Promoting the flow of qi
and blood, removing blood stasis and activationg the
heart-vessels.
Prescription/Formula: Modified prescription of
Red Sage Drink and Decoction of Four Ingredients with
Peach Kernel and Safflower. red sage root, Radix Salviae
Miltiorrhizae 30g sandalwood, Lignum Santali 3g amomum
fruit, Fructus Amomi 10g green trangerine orange peel,
Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae Viride 5g lindera root,
Radix linderae 5 g Chinese angelica, Radix angelicae
Sinensis 10g chuanxiong rhizome, Rhizoma ligustici
Chuanxiong 10g red peony root, Radix Paeoniae Rubra 10g
safflower, Flos Carthami 9g peach kernel, Semen Persicae
10g dalbergia wood, Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae 10g.
Syndrome (c)
Deficiency of
Both Qi and Yin
Indistinct pain in the precardiac (in front of the hear
tregion, lassitude, palpitation, shortness of breath,
spontaneous perspiration, dry mouth, red tongue with
little fur, taut and weak pulse.
To treat by Herbal
medicine Therapeutic principle: Replenishing qi,
nourishing yin and promoting blood circulation.
To treat by Acupuncture and
Moxibustion Prescription: Neiguan ( P 6) and Xinshu ( B
15) or Jueyinshu ( B 14).
Supplementary Points: For stagnation of qi and blood
stasis, Geshu ( B 17), Xuehai (Sp 10), Shangzhong ( Ren
17), Taichong (Liv 3) and Qimen ( Liv 14), are added;
for obstruction of Yang-qi in the chest, Jianshi ( P 5),
Daling ( P 7) and Shanzhong ( Ren 17);
For deficiency of qi and blood in the heart and
spleen, Shenmen ( H 7), Zusanli (S 36), Sanyinjiao
(Sp 6) and Pishu (B 20). Give the treatment once every
day or every other day. 10 treatments make up a course.
Ear Acupuncture: Prescription: Pt. Chest, Pt. Shenmen, Pt. Heart,
Pt. Subcortex, Pt. Liver and Pt. Spleen. Give the
treatment once or twice a day.
Generally speaking, Qigong is good for healing
effect of this specific ailment, however
individual results may vary. It improves the
flow of the qi and the circulation of the blood,
so you'll experience more energy, but, you won't
see/ feel any immediate effects, as with many
exercises and therapies, it takes a few weeks or
even months of practice before you'll see any
significant improvements.
For the information of different types of Qigong
,just click a link above.
This information is for education purpose only.
We strongly advise you seek a licensed Qigong
master to learn the correct ways to conduct
these exercises before attempting them.
(b) Medicated diet
1. Prepared-Fleece Root(Zhishouwu) 12g,
Chrysanthemum Flower(Juhua) 9g, cook them and
drink as tea for heart disease with
Hypertension.
2. Peach Kernel(Taoren) 6g, Hawthorn
Fruit(Shanzha) 12g, Tangerine Peel(Chenpi) 3g,
decoct them to make tea. Drink the tea for blood
stasis in the Heart-vessels.
(c) Life style
1. Take precaution against Hypertension.
2. Take precaution against Diabetes.
3. Quit smoking and limit drinking wine.
4. Take less fatty food to prevent Hyperlipemia.
5. Keep good mood and do appropriate exercises.
Acknowledgments:
Healthphone.com greatly acknowledges the support
and dedication of our
Healing Centre Panel, without whom this
section would not be possible.
We also greatly acknowedge Ms. Najaf Munir,
MBBS, for her editorial support. Ms. Munir
simplified the highly technical medical
documents into easy-to-read documents, for the
enjoyment and education of our numerous
visitors.
