For advertising information call 859.368.0778 or email [email protected] | February 2016
Can Acupuncture and
Chinese Medicine
Help Your Heart?
By Kathleen Fluhart, R.N., M.Ac.,
Dipl.Ac., L.Ac., Artemesia
In this region of the country,
many people only associate acupuncture with pain relief, so they have
no idea of the many conditions that
can be treated with acupuncture and
Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine includes herbs, massage, breathing exercises, meditation and gentle
exercises such as tai qi and qi gong.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) and the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) have long recognized acupuncture as helpful in the
treatment of over 40 different conditions. Within the realm of cardiovascular disorders and disorders that
effect circulation, acupuncture has
been proven to be useful in the treatment of stress, hypertension, obesity,
insomnia and anxiety.
Cardiovascular health is a vast
topic, so this article will focus on
how acupuncture and Chinese
medicine can benefit those who
suffer from hypertension and high
cholesterol.
Hypertension
High blood pressure (hypertension) makes the heart work harder,
which increases the risk of a heart
attack, stroke and kidney disease.
When the heart works harder
than normal, its oxygen demands
increase, which can contribute to
angina. Over time, high blood pressure can even lead to an enlarged,
weakened heart.
In Chinese medicine, we are concerned with systolic and diastolic
blood pressure and the implications
of the apple versus pear body types,
but we also want to understand the
patient’s underlying pattern imbalances. We do this through feeling the
qualities of the 12 wrist pulses and
observing the tongue.
We recognize two main patterns
associated with high blood pressure:
“excessive” versus “deficient.” The
excessive hypertensive person is
often seen manifesting angrily, with a
throbbing headache, flushed face and
reddened eyes. There is an excess of
damp heat in the body and the person may be prone to inflammation
or infections. Treatment would consist of relaxation, clearing dampness
from the liver and gallbladder pathways, sedating heat and perhaps t