Theoretical Basis and Application of Tongmai Method in Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure
Chronic heart failure(CHF)is the ultimate destination of most cardiovascular diseases,and its 5-year survival rate is e-quivalent to or even lower than that of malignant tumors.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has many understandings of CHF treatment and believes that in addition to the heart,blood and blood vessels are the chief culprits of CHF.The cause of CHF origi-nates from the blood vessels.Because the blood"toxin"runs in the blood vessels for a long time,it gradually leads to the thicken-ing and hardening of the vascular walls.The poor vascular route and ventricular remodeling form a positive feedback,which is ad-verse to the rehabilitation of CHF.Blood vessels are called pulses in TCM.Qi deficiency,Qi stagnation,blood stasis,phlegm turbidi-ty,cold coagulation,and even blood turbidity can all cause arterial blockage and trigger the disease finally.Compared with the tradi-tional methods of strengthening the heart and nourishing the heart,the Tongmai method adjusts Qi and blood to reach the five vis-cera from the perspective of the holistic view,so as to prevent and treat CHF.The methods of Yiqi Tongmai,Wenyang Tongmai,Ligqi Tongmai,Huayu Tongmai,Huazhuo Tongmai,Lishui Tongmai,and Jiedu Tongmai are comprehensively used to reduce the load on the heart,improve blood circulation,and achieve the purpose of dredging the veins,so as to relieve the clinical symptoms of CHF and delay the progression of the disease.