Treatment of coronary heart disease with acupuncture and herbal formula

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common heart disease due to myocardial (muscle of heart) dysfunction that cause by ischemia because of narrowed coronary artery, so it is also called ischemic heart disease (IHD).  The main symptom is chest pain or tightness, sometimes it may radiates to neck, left shoulder and upper back, arm.  Other symptoms may include dizziness, short of breath, sweating, chills, vomit, and fainting. Severe patients may die of heart failure.

On December 17, 2010, Mrs. Huang (age 68) came to my clinic with her husband because of her severe dizziness . She went to see a cardiologist two weeks ago due to the chest tightness, difficult breath and slight dizziness. According to the report fro the specialist, the exercise stress echocardiogram (ECG) showed “strongly positive for ischemia”, and the rest ECG indicated mild concentric left ventricular hypertrophy. The doctor recommended an invasive cardiac catheterization and prescribed –statin and asprin although her lipid panel blood test showed normal. She was unwilling to have the catheterization treatment. Thus, her family doctor referred her to another cardiologist for the second opinion. The appointment of the second examination was scheduled on Dec. 23, and the result will be given on Dec. 28^th. 

She took the medicines as the doctor prescribed. Although the chest tight was became less, the patient still felt short of breath when gent upstairs and the dizziness became more worse in the last two day. Her head was pain and heavy. She could not wait till see the second doctor, therefore, her husband searched for the Chinese doctors from the yellow book and found me. I gave her pulse diagnosis and measured her blood pressure. It was 180/90.

I told the patient that her currently dizziness is mainly due to the high blood pressure and heart dysfunction caused by the blocked coronary artery, both acupuncture and herbal formula could effectively lower her blood pressure, and improve blood circulation of her coronary artery as well as blood supply to her brain. Therefore, I suggested her have acupuncture and herbal formula simultaneously. She accepted. I gave her acupuncture treatment and measured her blood pressure after then. The pressure dropped to 130/80. She told me that she felt her heavy head became much lighter, the dizziness was also diminished.  I told her taking herbs I prepared and come back in three days.

She came back on Dec. 20, told me that the dizziness has dropped from 5 to 1. The short of breath when she climbed upstairs was also disappeared. She asked me to treat her shoulder pain with acupuncture. After the treatment, I told her continue the herbs I gave her last time and let me know the exam result from the second cardiologist after Dec. 28. The patient did not come back. I called her after New Year asking for the result. The lady told me that she was fine now and the second doctor told her the exam showed normal.  Because she was taking care of her grand children, she could not come to show me the result.

CAD and  stroke occur with higher ratio among people with higher blood pressure, higher blood lipid, and higher blood sugar (three high), hormone disorders, over body weight, smoking, and older age. Therefore, these people should actively prevent CAD. Drugs can control the blood pressure, sugar, and lipids, but the patients who are taking them are still in higher risk getting CAD and stroke than others. Thus, I suggest these people take herbal products periodically for prevention. Of course, you need to carefully select the safe products.  Even to people with no three high, with the age growing, I recommend people over age 40 do periodic body maintenance with herbal products like maintening your car, especially to your circulation system. This is when getting older, blood vessels, which include arteries, arteriole, veins, venules and capillary, wil become more or less narrowed, blocked, or fragile without our knowing, particularly the capillaries. My college daughter said using a car as an instance sounds unscientific, and should not come from her mom, a scientist with a Ph.D.  I told her that human body is indeed an alive, more complex machine.  

Most of patients came to my clinic for CAD or stroke have either hypertension or diabetes. I treated them with acupuncture and herbal formula first to relieve their symptoms, and asked them taking capsues of Tri-rejuvenator and Tri-circulator I made alternatively after then. Their feedbacks are very good. Few of these who have CAD and went to ER frequently before the treatment no longer need to go to ER. 

Many of my patients went to see other acupuncturist before came to me, then turned to me because they were not satisfied with the treatment result by the previous doctors. Most of them were satisfied with my treatment. Some people tried one or two times from an acupuncturist, then concluded that acupuncture or herbal formula had no effective; some others went to see only one medical doctor with no good result, then no longer believed medical doctors. In fact, neither attitude is correct.

By the way, I am telling you that press “Nei Guan” point could effective reduce the symptom of acute onset of heart failure, and may even rescue one’s life.