Clinical Insights into Heart Meridian Use and Associated Symptoms
By Namwook Cho L.Ac
The heart meridians are infrequently used in clinical practice unless emotional or psychological issues exist. However, the heart meridian can produce remarkable treatment effects when applied accurately to those in need.
The heart’s primary role is to control psychological function. Many psychological and sleeping problems could be treated as the heart treated by either heart tonifying or sedating formulas of Saam Acupuncture.
Other symptoms that need to be used in the Heart Tonifying formula, which is tonifying Liv1 and Ht9 and sedating K10 and Ht3, are heart pain, palpitations, and temporary cyanosis, which can indicate underlying heart issues. Common signs of heart deficiency are easily detected by checking tenderness at Ren17 and Ren15 points. Those points can indicate increased chest pressure, especially when blood flow is slow at night.
In clinical practice, some meridians are frequently used. In particular, the heart and pericardium meridians are rarely used, typically only once or twice a month, unless patients have emotional or psychological issues. However, when the heart meridian is applied accurately to patients who genuinely need it, the treatment effects can be astonishing, even surprising to the acupuncturist.
Let us look at the function of the heart. The heart’s role is to pump blood throughout the body. However, all the blood in the vessels cannot move solely based on the pressure generated by the heart. At this point, the leg muscles, such as the calf muscles, help push the blood along. Patients who complain of heart pain are likely to have weak calf muscles. Those experiencing heart palpitations and anxiety may born with naturally narrow blood vessels or may suffer from blood stasis acquired later in life. Heart palpitations should be regarded as a precursor to angina.
Additionally, patients may experience temporary cyanosis of the lips and loss of consciousness, headaches, or a tendency to faint due to decreased blood flow to the head, which may indicate heart valve disease. The typical symptoms of heart deficiency include heart palpitations, insomnia, and anxiety. In such cases, it is essential to replenish the heart’s blood. There is also congestive heart failure, characterized by swelling and difficulty breathing.
When pathological problems occur in the heart, tenderness may arise at the points Ren17 (Shanzhong) and Ren15 (Jiuwei). In such cases, it can be determined that these symptoms are due to increased pressure in the chest caused by heart issues. Furthermore, when the heart’s rhythm weakens, symptoms of generalized swelling may appear. This is generally because blood flow is slowest at night, but issues may be more pronounced during the night for those with pathologically slow heartbeats.
Now, let us discuss the cases in which the heart tonifying formula should be used.
- If there is redness or growth of flesh in the inner eye or the surface of the eyeball. It can be considered a sign of a heart problem. Additionally, when there are issues with the heart, the face may appear overall reddish. This is because the heart meridian connects to the inner eye.
- The heart meridian passes through the throat. Therefore, if one side of the tonsil is swollen, we typically use the stomach meridian formulas, but if both tonsils are swollen, it can be understood as blood congestion in the tonsils, indicating a heart problem.
- In cases where a mother cannot produce milk, this can also be understood as a result of blood stagnation, thus suggesting heart deficiency.
- When a person experiences heat stroke or heat exhaustion due to summer heat, this is diagnosed as a symptom of blood stagnation in the heart.
- If symptoms of heart palpitations, anxiety, forgetfulness, unstable emotions, incoherent speech, frequent dreams, or easily startled reactions occur, along with low blood pressure or dizziness, or if there are signs of cold sweats or excessive sweating, all these can be seen as heart deficiency.
- The heart meridian treats generalized swelling, but if only the arms and legs are swollen, the spleen meridian is used.
- Pain around the navel accompanied by a cold sensation is also interpreted as a sign of heart deficiency.
- Symptoms like thin and weak leg muscles leading to difficulty walking, constant shaking of the head or hands, warmth in the palms, feelings of emptiness in the heart leading to insomnia, and cold sensations above the navel all indicate heart deficiency.
