In Chinese medicine, “heart disease” means quite a bit more than it does in Western medicine.
Both medicines recognise what comes to mind when we hear the term “heart disease”: heart attack, cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease and more.
These are the most serious heart problems, due to the deadly outcome of blood circulation blockages.
In addition, Chinese medicine recognises other heart conditions that may appear benign in comparison, but still significantly impact quality of life.
Furthermore, Chinese medicine has the potential to treat both serious and benign heart conditions.
Inadequate Testing
While tests such as the electrocardiogram (EKG) or the treadmill test detect potential problems, their application is severely limited.
For example, the EKG, usually done first, reveals the electrical rhythm of the heart.
By analysing the rhythm it’s possible to determine if there’s already damage to the heart regardless of whether or not there’s been a previous heart attack.
For a result to be detected, there already has to be damage to the heart, so the EKG isn’t particularly useful for preventative or predictive purposes.
If the EKG reveals problems, usually the next step is the treadmill test or a stress test.
When a patient is running their fastest this test detects problems if one of the 3 major coronary arteries is blocked. The problem is it only detects blockages sometimes.
One of those arteries needs to be at least 50%- 70% blocked for the test to be useful. Even then, the test will only pick up about 65% of coronary artery disease (CAD) cases.
A Major Concern
Imagine a group of 100 patients with CAD, i.e., 100 people who should fail the test.
As many as 35-40 people will walk away having been told they’re fine despite the fact that they have a blockage. (If only one artery is blocked, the accuracy of the test is much lower.
If all 3 arteries are blocked, the test is more accurate.
One consideration about the usefulness of the stress test comes from recent research, revealing that 70% of heart attacks occur when there is less than a 50% blockage.
In other words, for 70% of heart attack patients, the stress test may be entirely useless.
It’s true that there’s other tests that can be performed to detect potential risks for heart attack.
Today the “gold standard” test is an angiogram, but even this test has drawbacks. If it’s not read properly, a risk for heart attack can be missed. Just like the stress tests, an angiogram can miss a 50% blockage.
An Effective Option
Fortunately, radial pulse diagnosis in Chinese medicine can be very effective at picking up even minor blockages of blood flow in the heart.
It’s becoming so important that a number of cardiologists around the world are learning this ancient Chinese diagnostic tool.
With acupuncture and herbal medicine, Chinese medicine is able to improve blood circulation as well as relieve disease symptoms.
Of course, in urgent or severe cases patients should be referred to Western medical care.
After such referrals I have more than a handful of pleasant surprises when I get a call from cardiologists, who ask, “How did you detect their heart problem?”
In addition to being able to detect problems with blood flow in the heart, pulse diagnosis can often reveal particular risk factors such as:
- Coronary spasms
- Inflammation
- Arteriosclerosis
- Mitral valve problems
- Aortic valve proble
- Enlarged hearts
Although there are a few conditions that require medical treatment, such as primary hypertension, in most cases Chinese medicine is able to detect and treat these conditions according to each individual’s needs.
Heart Murmurs
Chinese radial pulse diagnosis can detect milder conditions that may not be detected by a Western doctor: heart murmurs.
The majority of heart murmurs are benign, which means they’re not likely to kill you. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t affect us.
Western medicine recognises that anxiety may accompany a murmur. Chinese medicine takes it a few steps further.
They consider other symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, chronic fatigue, and emotional sensitivity to be associated with heart murmurs.
According to Chinese medicine, their treatments help relieve symptoms of heart murmurs by improving the efficiency of blood circulation through the heart.
Clinically speaking, patients regularly report sleeping better, more energy, and feeling much more resilient in life.
How Can Chinese Medicine Help Patients
The majority of patients come to acupuncture and herbal medicine as a last resort, as their last hope of getting help when the Western medical system has dissatisfied them – or worse, failed them.
But given the effectiveness of Chinese medicines results, it makes sense to try Chinese medicine much sooner.
If you, or someone you know is concerned about their heart health, I encourage you to visit a competent Chinese medical doctor sooner rather than later. The earlier we know about your symptoms, the more opportunity we have to help.
Chinese medicine can be superior to Western medicine at creating health and preventing disease; having a healthy heart is no exception.
For a free Chinese pulse assessment, book an appointment here
David L. Edwards is an author, Chinese medicine physician and acupuncturist. He’s the author of The Body Fat Formula and The Pocketbook guide to Chinese medicine. David is the director of Barefoot Health and Wellness health programs.
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