Heart Yang Collapsing
The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.
At a glance
Preliminary reading: What is a pattern? The Heart in Chinese Medicine The concept of Yang
Key attributes
Chinese name: 心阳下陷 Pinyin name: Xīn Yáng Xià Xiàn
Pattern nature: Empty
Pattern hierarchy: Specific pattern under Yang Deficiency
Causes
Precursor patterns: Kidney Yang Deficiency
Common causes: 1. Excessive sexual activity, 2. Overwork over a long period of time, 3. Chronic illness, 4. Emotional problems such as sadness or grief, 5. Blood loss
Diagnosis
Common symptoms: Weak breath Purple lips Palpitations Heavy sweating Shortness of breath and two other symptoms
Pulse type(s): Knotted (Jie), Minute (Wei), Hidden (Fu)
Tongue description: Short, very pale or bluish-purple
Treatment
Treatment principle: Rescue Yang, restore consciousness and stop sweating.
Common formulas: Shen Fu Tang
Pathology
This pattern is similar to Heart Yang Deficiency, but much severe. Therefore the clinical symptoms are quite similar. The key different manifestation is the cyanosis of the lips. It is because the Blood flow are impaired due to lacking of Yang Qi's moving force.
Coma happens in rare severe cases. It is because the Heart should house the Mind. However, the Mind has no 'residence' due to the overall collapse of Heart Qi. In this case, the patients might not even be able to move their tongue due to lack of Qi. Also, Yang Deficiency leads to internal Coldness which contracts the tongue muscles. Therefore, the tongue can not be moved out of mouth.
The Hidden pulse shows the severe degree of Yang Deficiency. It is an extreme case of the Deep pulse. The Knotted pulse also shows the severe Yang Deficiency, because the Heart has not enough energy to function properly.
Causes
Precursor patterns: Heart Yang Collapsing can derive from Kidney Yang Deficiency
Excessive sexual activity: Since Heart Yang Collapsing always develops from severe Kidney Yang Deficiency, excessive sexual activity indirectly causes Heart Yang Collapsing since it causes the latter.
Overwork over a long period of time : Since Heart Yang Collapsing always develops from severe Kidney Yang Deficiency, overwork over a long period of time indirectly causes Heart Yang Collapsing since it causes the latter.
Chronic illness: Since Heart Yang Collapsing always develops from severe Kidney Yang Deficiency, chronic illness indirectly causes Heart Yang Collapsing since it causes the latter.
Emotional problems such as sadness or grief: Emotional problems, particularly from sadness or grief, can lead to Heart Yang Deficiency
Blood loss: Any severe or prolonged blood loss will cause Heart Blood Deficiency, which, in turn, will lead to Heart Yang Deficiency.
Diagnosing Heart Yang Collapsing
Diagnosing a pattern in Chinese Medicine is no easy feat and should be left to professional practitioners. In particular one has to know how to differentiate between different types of pulses and tongue coatings, shapes and colors as well as learn to read from a long list of seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Pulse type(s): Knotted (Jie), minute (Wei) or hidden (Fu)
Tongue description: Short, very pale or bluish-purple
Main symptoms: Weak breath Purple lips Palpitations Heavy sweating Shortness of breath Shallow Respiration Cold hands and feet
Diagnosis commentary: Key characteristic symptoms of this pattern are the cyanosis of the lips, the cold limbs and the Hidden-Minute pulse.
Treating Heart Yang Collapsing
Treatment principle
Rescue Yang, restore consciousness and stop sweating.
Herbal formulas used to treat Heart Yang Collapsing
Shen Fu Tang
Source date: 1445 AD
Number of ingredients: 2 herbs
Key actions: Restores Yang. Strongly tonifies the source Qi. Saves Qi from collapsing due to devastated Yang.
Formula summary
Shen Fu Tang is a 2-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula. Invented in 1445 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that rescue devastated Yang.
Besides Heart Yang Collapsing, Shen Fu Tang is also used to treat Collapse of Yang.
Consequence patterns
Similar to cardiac infarction in Western medicine, Heart Yang Collapsing can cause death. When it doesn't, the main consequence is severe and acute Heart Blood Stagnation.