heart revival

[dougadam]

Are there any heart revival techniques in traditional chinese medicine?

[FANWOO]

this may not be chinese medicine, but i have read several articles on the use of habonero pepper tincture under the tongue to stop a heartattack. a friend of mine said his dad used the technique during a heart attack,and that it saved his life. it is pretty intense since the habonero pepper is so hot,but it beats dying. go to Herbs First in google and read doctor christopher's article on cayenne and the affects it has on the heart. --peter

[dwid]

To stop a heart attack, well really to minimize the region of dead myocardial tissue:

MONA: Morphine, Oxygen, Nitro, Aspirin

There is no "revival" of heart tissue in the truest sense of the word. Heart Attack, or myocardial infarction, is literally a death of a part of the heart muscle. The key is to do things to minimize the amount of tissue that dies during a heart attack, as the more muscle you save, the more likely the patient is to meaningfully or functionally recover.

If Habanero works, it probably works in a similar manner to nitro, as a potent vascular smooth muscle relaxer, to overcome some of the compensatory mechanisms that lead to worsening of a heart attack. I know some spicy foods work as vasodilators, which is probably the case with Habanero. Still, I would think of it as a last resort if medical attention is unavailable or slow in coming. Time is critical in an MI.

[vikinggoddess]

Datura leaf I know for Heart Attack with pain. Very small dose like quarter sized piece of leaf, poor boiling water over it, drink & pray.

[dwid]

Just make sure you call EMS first.

All joking aside, a big factor in the lethality of heart attacks is that people wait too long to seek treatment. Symptoms are progressive, and people (especially men) are pros when it comes to denial and procrastination regarding seeking medical help. It takes several hours from the onset of symptoms to the point where loss of life is likely/imminent. Symptoms include shortness of breath and chest and/or referred pain (left arm, teeth, back - depends on the person), and people don't want to admit to themselves that they are in trouble, so they don't seek help until the symptoms reach a debilitating level. I think part of it is the fact that we westerners mostly live our lives in denial of the reality of death, and it's hard to accept that you're having a heart attack when you haven't really come to terms with the fact that all living things (including you) will ultimately die.

I saw a patient at a nursing clinic at a high rise community for seniors once. This guy was sweating profusely, was out of breath from walking from the elevator to the clinic and his blood pressure was through the roof. Textbook signs of heart attack, and he didn't want to go to the hospital. He said he had errands to run first and that his wife couldn't cope with him going to the hospital (she was very sensitive about such things). I tried respectfully to help him understand that if his wife couldn't cope with him going to the hospital, coping with him dying suddenly in the next several hours might be even harder on her. He had had a previous heart attack and had strong suspicions that this was one and he still waited until after he was done with his errands to go to the hospital.