Heart-liver blood vacuity

A disease pattern characterized by heart palpitation; insomnia; eyes and sinews deprived of nourishment; blood vacuity signs.

Description: Heart palpitation; insomnia and profuse dreaming; flusteredness and forgetfulness; dizzy head and vision; blurred vision; numbness and tingling of the limbs; tremor of the limbs; scant pale menstrual flow or amenorrhea; lusterless white facial complexion; lusterless nails; a pale-white tongue; a fine pulse.

Diseases: Vacuity taxation; heart palpitation; sleeplessness; dizziness; tetanic disease; menstrual disease.

Pathogenesis: Insufficiency of blood depriving both heart and liver of nourishment.

The heart governs the blood, whereas the liver stores the blood, so the two viscera are said to have their own blood. General blood vacuity often manifests specifically in heart blood vacuity or liver blood vacuity or both. The pathomechanisms giving rise to the dual pattern are the following:

• enduring illness;
• excessive preoccupation and taxation of the spirit;
• excessive loss of blood;
• insufficient blood production attributable to spleen vacuity.

Analysis of signs

• Insufficiency of heart blood, depriving the heart of nourishment: Heart palpitation, insomnia, and profuse dreaming, flusteredness, and forgetfulness.
• Liver blood depletion, depriving the eyes and sinews of nourishment: Dry eyes, blurred vision, lusterless nails, tremor, hypertonicity, or numbness and tingling of the limbs.
• Lack of fullness in the thoroughfare (chōng) and controlling (rèn) vessels: Scant pale menstrual discharge or amenorrhea.
• General blood vacuity: Clouded head and dizzy vision, tinnitus, lusterless white facial complexion, and pale lips.
• Tongue: Pale with white fur. Paleness reflects blood vacuity.
• Pulse: Fine and forceless, reflecting vacuity.

Treatment

Medicinal therapy: Supplement heart blood and nourish liver blood. Use Four Agents Decoction (四物汤 sì wù tāng) or Liver-Supplementing Decoction (补肝汤 bǔ gān tāng).

Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, HT, LR, SP, and CV. Select BL-15 (Heart Transport, 心俞 xīn shù), BL-18 (Liver Transport, 肝俞 gān shù), BL-17 (Diaphragm Transport, 膈俞 gé shù), LR-3 (Supreme Surge, 太冲 tài chōng), SP-6 (Three Yīn Intersection, 三阴交 sān yīn jiāo), ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ), HT-7 (Spirit Gate, 神门 shén mén), PC-6 (Inner Pass, 内关 nèi guān), and KI-3 (Great Ravine, 太溪 tài xī); needle with supplementation and moxa.