Definition of coronary heart disease in TCM

Coronary arteriosclerotic cardiopathy, called coronary heart disease (CHD) for short, is characterized by paroxysmal oppressed sensation or pain in the chest, pale complexion, anxiety or irritability, palpitation, shortness of breath, and severe pain with sweating. Clinically it is manifested as latent CHD, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, myocardial sclerosis and sudden death. Among them angina pectoris and myocardial infarction are most commonly encountered. CHD often occurs among the people aged above forty. More males suffer from this disease than females and most patients are mental workers. Nowadays, it is one of the most common heart diseases in Europe and America, and about 5.7 millions in U. S. A. (2.5% of the population) suffer from this disease. In China its incidence is increasing in recent years and it has become one of the most dangerous diseases threatening people's lives.

The disease is associated with hypertension, hyper-lipidemia, diabetes, obesity, cigarette smoking, and social and psychological factors. As atheromatous plaque formed in the inner wall of coronary artery causes stenosis or obstruction of the blood vessel and block of blood flow, and results in myocardial ischemia, hypoxia and even necrosis, the disease is also called ischaemic heart disease. About 90 % of CHDs result from coronary atheroclerosis and about 5 %- 10% from coronary vasospasm. Click to read TCM Treatment for Coronary Arteriosclerotic Cardiopathy.

According to the clinical manifestations, it belongs the categories of "xiong bi" (thoracic obstruction of qi), "xin tong" (cardialgia), "xin ji" (palpitation), "jue xin tong" (precordial pain with cold limbs) and "zhen xin tong" (angina pectoris) in TCM. Its pathogenic factors include inward attack of exogenous pathogenic cold, improper diet, emotional disharmony, and aging and debility. Its pathogenesis is involved with the deficiency and excess. The former refers to deficiency of the heart, spleen and kidney and nutritional deficiency of blood vessel; the latter to stagnation of cold, qi and blood, and phlegm obstructing pectoral yang and heart vessels. If the blockage of heart vessels by blood stasis occurs, it may give rise to myocardial infarction and the prognosis may be unfavorable.