Search in dictionary
Heart-lung qì vacuity
心肺气虚 〔心肺氣虛〕xīn fèi qì xū
Also dual vacuity of the heart and lung (心肺两虚 xīn fèi liǎng xū).
A disease pattern chiefly characterized by forceless cough and shortness of breath or panting; heart palpitation; oppression in the chest; qì vacuity signs.
Description: Oppression in the chest; heart palpitation; forceless cough and panting or shortness of breath exacerbated by exertion; expectoration of clear thin phlegm; dizzy head; lassitude of spirit and lack of strength; low timid voice; spontaneous sweating; pale-white complexion sometimes with pale-purple lips; a pulse that is sunken and weak, possibly bound or intermittent.
Diseases: Cough; vacuity taxation, sweating, reversal patterns.
Pathogenesis: Insufficiency of lung qì and heart qì affecting the respiratory and blood-propelling actions. Because both lung qì and heart qì are dependent upon ancestral qì, this pattern can be understood as insufficiency of ancestral qì. The main contributory factors are
- enduring cough or panting that has damaged heart qì;
- constitutional insufficiency;
- decline in health in advancing years.
Analysis of signs
- Heart: Heart palpitation.
- Lung qì vacuity: Forceless cough, shortness of breath, or panting exacerbated by exertion, and a timid low voice.
- Devitalized chest yáng and non-diffusion of lung qì: Oppression in the chest.
- Lung qì failing to distribute liquid: Phlegm-rheum with production of clear thin white phlegm.
- Heart and lung qì vacuity affecting the supply of qì and blood: Dizzy head; lassitude of spirit; fatigue and lack of strength; spontaneous sweating.
- Complexion: pale-white, sometimes with pale purple lips.
- Tongue: Pale with white fur.
- Pulse: Vacuous or weak.
Treatment
Medicinal therapy: Supplement the heart and lung.
Acumoxatherapy: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, CV, and LU. Select BL-15 (Heart Transport, 心俞 xīn shù), BL-13 (Lung Transport, 肺俞 fèi shù), CV-14 (Great Tower Gate, 巨阙 jù què), BL-43 (Gāo-Huāng Transport, 膏肓俞 gāo huāng shù), CV-4 (Pass Head, 关元 guān yuán), CV-6 (Sea of Qì, 气海 qì hǎi), LU-9 (Great Abyss, 太渊 tài yuān), and ST-36 (Leg Three Lǐ, 足三里 zú sān lǐ); needle with supplementation and moxa.
Clinical sketch: A 47-year-old female complains of dry cough for many years. In the initial period, the cough would come on in cold weather. More recently, she suffered from the cough in all seasons, and bouts of coughing would bring on panting. Last year, she began to suffer from puffy swelling and heart palpitation. The tongue fur was pale yellow. The pulse was fine, weak, and interrupted. She was diagnosed in Western medicine as suffering from pulmogenic heart disease. The Chinese medical diagnosis was heart-lung qì vacuity.