Human health is constantly riddled with various diseases and infirmities. This deviation from normal health makes a person physically, mentally and socially unproductive, perhaps non-interactive. Modern medicine is very effective in treating acute diseases, but long term usage of medication can bring other problems. Acupuncture can help people to repair their body so that they can take a lower dosage of medication with less side effects.
Understanding acupuncture
A unique form of treatment, acupuncture does not involve the use of drugs or surgical procedures. Instead, it uses very fine and thin needles, which are inserted only into specific parts of the body, in varying degrees of depth. Acupuncture helps balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. These two parts of the nervous system have opposite effects and need to be in balance so that the heart can function normally. If the sympathetic nervous system is too strong, the heart will beat faster, and abnormal circuits can be formed; thus Atrial Fibrilization and Premature ventricular attraction or premature ventricular contraction occurs.
Premature ventricular contraction
A premature ventricular contraction (PVC) is a relatively common event wherein the heartbeat is initiated by Purkinje fibers in the ventricles rather than by the sinoatrial node (SA node), the normal heartbeat initiator. PVC can be related to stress, too much coffee or adrenaline, alcohol, cocaine, or a high blood level of calcium and/or low blood levels of magnesium and potassium.
These abnormal beats alter your heart’s regular rhythm, which can cause blood clots and stroke.
A person suffering from this disease feels that every once in a while his heart misses a beat. This occurs due to improper impulses generated from other areas of the heart instead of sinoatrial node, which is the pacemaker of the heart. These impulses, in turn, cause abnormal contractions of the ventricles, which disrupt the rhythmicity and hamper the pumping mechanism of the heart.
Acupuncture as a form of treatment
This widely popular form of medicine is very effective in treating this condition. Acupuncture for PVC leads to the release of various relaxing neurotransmitters. This, in turn, brings a balance in the body’s energy by equalizing the activities of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Thus, the impulses generated by the heart’s pacemaker become more regular, and the aberrant contractions disappear. In addition, it relieves the patient from the various related symptoms, especially anxiety, as this treatment helps the patient to relax.
Why acupuncture?
Beta blockers can slow down the heart beats, but they can also lower the blood pressure and compromise the blood circulation to the feet and hands. When the blood pressure and heartbeats are too low, patients can feel very tired, with swelling of the feet and hands. Using the lowest possible dosage of medication along with acupuncture treatment can best help the patient’s heart function.
Li Zheng is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and graduates from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine with 11 years of formal training, including 6 years of residency. She holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the US and is a Harvard Medical School-trained researcher and a professor at the New England School of Acupuncture. Her two practices are located in Needham, MA, and Boca Raton, FL. She has 26 years of clinical experience. For more detail please visit our website https://bostonchineseacupuncture.org/.