Herzgruppe Anhängsel
Herzgesundheit
Beziehung
Direkter Draht zur Psyche
Wie seelische und soziale Faktoren auf die Herzgesundheit wirken:
Eine glückliche, erfüllende Partnerschaft schützt das Herz, senkt also statistisch gesehen das Risiko für Erkrankungen der Herzkranzgefäße und daraus resultierende Infarkte. Umgekehrt gilt:
Wer sozial isoliert ist und die Unterstützung von vertrauten Menschen vermisst, stirbt Studien zufolge eher an den Folgen eines schon bestehenden Herzleidens. Trotz dieser klaren Ergebnisse kann eine Beziehung sich aber auch ungünstig auswirken. Zum Beispiel wenn sich die Partner gegenseitig darin bestärken, zu rauchen oder sich fettreich und fleischlastig zu ernähren. Wenn der geliebte Gefährte nach einer langen Beziehung verstirbt, kann es für den Hinterbliebenen sogar lebensgefährlich werden: Das Risiko für einen Herzinfarkt erhöht sich im ersten Monat nach dem Verlust eines nahen Angehörigen um das bis zu 20-Fache. Zuweilen machen sich die Partner von Herzkranken auch so große Sorgen um ihre Lieben, dass sie stärker unter Ängsten und depressiven Stimmungen leiden als der Betroffene selbst.
Charakter
Lange galt der Herzinfarkt als klassische Managerkrankheit, die besonders ehrgeizige, überarbeitete Gewinnertypen wie aus heiterem Himmel trifft. Diese Konstellation von Eigenschaften bezeichneten Kardiologen in den fünfziger Jahren als "Typ-A-Persönlichkeit". Inzwischen konnten Psychokardiologen nachweisen, dass dahinter im Kern eine Neigung zu Ärger und unterdrückter Feindseligkeit steckt. Patienten mit einer bereits bestehenden Erkrankung der Herzkranzgefäße haben erwiesenermaßen eine deutlich schlechtere Prognose, wenn sie dauerhaft zu negativen Gefühlen wie Angst und Reizbarkeit neigen und gleichzeitig eine starke Scheu vor sozialen Kontakten empfinden. Experten bezeichnen diese ungünstige Kombination manchmal als "Typ-D-Persönlichkeit". Ein Einfluss des Charakters auf das Risiko, überhaupt am Herzen zu erkranken, wurde bisher aber nicht belegt.
Geschlecht
Insgesamt sterben zwar mehr Frauen als Männer an Krankheiten des Herz-Kreislauf-Systems – sie sind allerdings im Durchschnitt schon 15 Jahre älter, wenn Erkrankungen der Herzkranzgefäße auftreten. Der typische Herzpatient im Alter unter 60 Jahren ist männlich, ab dem 75. Lebensjahr steigt die Zahl der kardiovaskulär bedingten Todesfälle vor allem bei Frauen stark an. Während bei Männern chronischer Stress am Arbeitsplatz als wichtiger psychosozialer Risikofaktor gilt, leidet die Herzgesundheit vieler Frauen mehr unter sozialen Konflikten und unter der Mehrfachbelastung durch Beruf und Familie. Obwohl herzkranke Frauen eher als Männer über Herzinfarkt-Symptome wie Brustschmerzen, Übelkeit oder Brennen sprechen, schieben Ärzte die geschilderten Beschwerden bei weiblichen Patienten gerne auf die Psyche und laufen so Gefahr, Anzeichen für einen lebensbedrohlichen Infarkt zu übersehen.
[Leela D'Souza]
What is a realistic expectation of Homeopathic treatment in Cardiac
Patients?
Homeopathic treatment is able to reverse pathological changes over time.
For this to happen, obviously the remedies prescribed should be based on the
pathological changes of that particular cardiac event. Two of our masters who
treated patient in this way and hence obtained great success in serious
diseases were John Henry Clarke and Cyrus Boger. Both of them have given
beautiful perspectives in their material medica of the pathological scope of
the remedy, obtained either through clinical experience or through study of the
poisoning effects of remedies. Read through their materia medica of cardiac
remedies if you really want to know how to prescribe them in pathological
conditions. There are valuable insights.
For example, a cardiac picture indicating Cactus as a remedy will
present with any permutation or combination of the location, sensation,
modalities, concomitant (LSMC) given above. We need to observe carefully and
note these down – in a couple of minutes. Boger’s Repertory itself will lead
one to this prescription, or else Clarke’s “The Prescriber”. Knowing the
materia medica well, is half the work as far as remedy choice is concerned. We
must learn to differentiate the modalities between remedies first, to know
their different applications. In addition we have software today to help us get
a remedy within a few minutes. The homeopath needs to have a command of his
senses, observe carefully, know his remedy characteristics and have a keen
clinical judgment. All this working together would make us competent
homeopathic cardiologists.
Let me elaborate how Clarke and Boger have given us a clinical
perspective of the presenting picture of a cardiac patient with an example from
the Materia Medica:
Cactus grandiflorus - indicated
for ACS, Angina
Cyrus Boger
HEART (muscle). (general)
CIRCULATION.
Head, right
Chest.
Circular Muscles. (cardiac
muscle contraction, blood vessels)
<: at night/lying on left side.
<: periodically. Exertion, 10-11 h. or 23 h.;
>: open air/pressure on
vertex;
CONSTRICTIONS, heart, chest,
neck, body feels tight or wrapped, (Bar-c./Graph./Med./Nux-v./Sulph.). (“As if
constricted”)
Irregular circulation.
(muscular tissue of blood vessels)
Violent congestion.
Hot gushes into chest.
Localized pulsations, behind
stomach.
HEMORRHAGE.
Pains causing cries.
Periodical neuralgias. (scope
is peripheral nerves)
“As of a weight on vertex or
chest”.
Red face. (Concomittant)
Cough, from heart affections,
rattling. (Pathological symptom)
Menses lumpy, black, cease on
lying.
HEART FEELS CLUTCHES #
RELEASED, BY AN IRON HAND, or feels it expand and contract, seems to turn over
(Lach.),
stitches, irritable, intermittent beat.
“As if an iron band about
chest”.(feeling of constriction)
Numb left arm. (Concomittant)
Fingers tingle.
(Concomittant)
Chill, not > covering. (Concomittant)
Strong pulsations in odd places.
(Concomittant)
Related: Acon. Coc-c.
CACTUS GRANDIFLORUS
[John Henry Clarke]
We are indebted to Rubini of Naples and his devoted wife for the first
provings of this great remedy. Cactus affects powerfully the entire organism,
but its most intense
operation is on the heart and circulation.
In congestive violence it rivals Acon., which is one of its antidotes.
As with Acon., pain is unendurable, they extort screams. (Remedy
relationship/differentiation in cardiac conditions)
Sadness, apprehension, fear of death and a tendency to be easily
frightened characterize the Cactus mental state, as they do many conditions of
heart disease. (Mental
State – concomitant). Given as an organ-remedy it will benefit a large
number of cases of weakened and painful heart, and if its keynote symptom of
constriction—
”As if an iron band prevented its normal movements,” or Heart “As if
compressed violently and as violently struggled to burst its bonds” is present,
it will cure. (Sensation)
Pain and numbness in left arm accompanying heart disease. (concomitant)
Sharp pains in diaphragm and girdle pain round its attachment.
(concomitant)
Indigestion with these symptoms. (concomitant)
Snader considers Cactus specially indicated where the heart is weak and
the arteries atheromatous. (Pathological scope)
This is confirmed by a venerable correspondent of the Hom. World (July,
1898), who, finding his temporal arteries much swollen and hard to touch, took
several doses of
Cact. Ix, with the result that in a few days they became normal.
(Clincial experience of pathological scope)
Snader uses the lower attenuations in this condition. (Posology)
A case of angina pectoris was cured by the 30th, with the following
characteristic: sensation as though a swarm of hornets were going from pectoral
region to heart.
(Clinical experience of sensation)
Cactus has the weakness and coldness of the extremities which
characterize many heart cases, and render it an appropriate remedy.
(concomitant)
Constricting pains run through the pathogenesis (throat, chest, heart,
bladder, rectum, vagina). (Sensation)
Twitching of muscles, and sensation of constriction produced by touching
the affected part. (Causation/Sensation)
Hemorrhages (nose, lungs, rectum, stomach).
Sanguineous congestions, which are in a way a counterpart of the
constrictive sensations.
Prostration.(concomitant)
Among the other prominent symptoms of Cactus are: “Heavy pain in vertex,
like a weight.” “Periodical attacks of suffocation, with fainting, cold sweat
on face, and loss of
pulse.”
“Fluttering and palpitation of heart, <: when walking or lying on left side.” “Heart
disease with swelling of left hand only.” “Numbness of left arm.” “Rheuma of
all joints,
beginning in upper extremities.”
The pains are very sharp, causing the patient to cry out. (Proving
symptoms that may be clinically significant in cardiac cases)
Many symptoms <: at night
(Cere-b. = Night-blooming Cereus)
Menses ceases at night.
Many symptoms < lying down, or come on when lying down.
Periodicity is well marked (quotidian fever, 11 h.).
Chill at same hour every day, 11 h. 23 h.
Post Acute Stage Management:
Treatment of acute pathology and disease presentations is never complete
without the backing of an antimiasmatic constitutional remedy. In fact, once
the disease presentation
becomes chronic, the constitutional remedy becomes the main curative
agent and also the maintainer of homeostasis – to the point that it prevents
progress of the disease and
prevents repeated episodes of the same condition. It also prevents
complications by its ability to maintain homeostasis and avoid effects of
“stress” – both mental and physical.
From the Cardiac perspective – the prevention required is to prevent
clot formation, reduce chronic inflammation, prevent platelet aggregation,
reduce LV remodelling.
The latter is a phenomenon of cardiomyopathy that results in cardiac
failure following both IHD and Myocarditis. Over time, a homeopathic remedy can
reduce target organ
damage caused by hypertension as well as improve valvular function in
rheumatic heart disease. More often than not, these conditions require the
support of specific remedies
or phase remedies indicated by the specific disease presentation or just
by the pathology. These remedies are also specific remedies in our material
medica or Organ remedies
prescribed as mother tinctures or in very low potency.
We can see below how our masters treated cardiac conditions with
homeopathic remedies with great confidence mainly because they were clinically
sound in their diagnosis.
[John Henry Clarke]
Crataegus was introduced into medicine as a heart remedy by Dr. Greene,
of Ennis, Ireland, and it has been used empirically with much success in cases
of heart failure.
It has usually been given in 5-drop doses of the tincture.
Weak and rapid pulse, dysponea and dropsy, dependent on failure of
heart-power whether from valvular affection or from anemia, appear to be the
leading indications.
Heart-failure threatened from slightest exertion.
The drug may cause nausea when given in the tincture unless given during
or immediately after a meal.
The mental state is that of irritability, crossness, and melancholy.
Crataegus is the nearest approach to a positive heart tonic that I know
of.
It has produced some heart symptoms and has, doubtless, a homeopathic
relation, but it is not a heart-poison like Digitalis, and has no cumulative
action
Here are some cases: Halbert in Clinique, March, 1899, records this
case: “Mr. S., a young man sixteen years
of age, had worked hard at manual labor since his 12th year to
support
a widowed mother. He had, in fact, done a man’s work before his physical
maturity would permit it. For some time he has shown some signs of cardiac
hypertrophy, and had been
cautioned by physicians to take good care of his heart. About a year
ago, during some gymnastic extreme in the nature of sport, he was suddenly
admonished that something had
‘given way,’ and for relief was obliged to take to his bed.
When I first saw him he was obliged to lie down, respiration was labored
and irregular, and the heart’s action was greatly exaggerated and erratic.
There was decided precordial
bulging, the apex beat was considerably displaced, downward and to the
left, and the whole cardiac dullness was greatly extended, the impulse was
heaving in character, with
considerable mitral systolic blowing and the corresponding diastolic
intensification, there were also signs of considerable pulmonary engorgement
and some pain in the chest region.
The patient was put into a warm bath for twenty minutes, and then
carefully returned to bed. Aconite 3X
was administered every half-hour, and continued hourly for a day or two
afterward until he was somewhat relieved. Crataegus, five-drop doses of
the tincture, was than administered five times daily for a long time. The
effects of Crat. were most remarkable,
the cardiac irritation gradually lessened, the area of dullness decreased
and the rhythm improved, at the same time all the general symptoms improved
rapidly. He has now been using
the remedy for several months, and the result is most satisfactory.
As a precaution, in patients with a family history of heart disease,
begin treatment at a younger age to prevent future cardiac problems. In these
patients it is important to pay attention
to cardiac related symptoms as precursors of future cardiac disease.
Hence it is so important to take into account the family history of every patient
when evaluating symptoms for their
cardiac related significance.
Finally lifestyle change, – Diet, exercise, Adequate sleep/rest, Weight
loss in obese patients, are important components to supportive treatment in
Cardiac patients.
ANATOMY and PATHOPHYSIOLOGY:
Coronary Vessels:
To properly evaluate and examine cardiac patients, we need to first know
the anatomy and pathophysiology of the heart and its musculature, valves and
blood supply.
The arteries that are bypassed in grafting or opened with stents, are
the external coronary arteries (the right and left coronary arteries and their
branches) – seen in the figure below.
Coronary Angiograms examine the coronary arteries for poor blood supply
and decisions on stents to be inserted in blood vessels or cardiac bypass
surgery are made by evaluating this
investigation along with others. In cases with less than 70% blockage of
coronary vessels, stents can be avoided. Homeopathic treatment can play a vital
role in maintaining good
cardiac status, blood supply and dissolving blockages.
A clear understanding of the TWO circulations that the heart is involved
with in every heartbeat – the Systemic circulation and the Pulmonary
circulation, helps us evaluate the
function of the heart musculature. The interaction between the heart and
each of these two circulations plays a dominant role in the functioning of the
heart:
Heart failure (left sided) in its various stages - is an interaction
between the heart and the systemic circulation - of compensatory mechanisms and
supportive effects. The homeopathic remedy choice becomes more accurate if one
understands the pattern of symptom presentation and the pathology involved:
Is the problem with cardiac muscle weakness? (Strophanthus, Adonis,
Crataegus, Convallaria, Iberis,) Is the problem with electrolyte imbalance (Na,
K, CL, Ca)? (Nat-m./Kali-c./Apoc.)
Is the problem with renal perfusion? (Digitalis, Sarothamnus Scoparius)
Is the problem with systemic circulatory blood vessels? (Lycopus,
Lachesis, Phos)
Is the issue related to blood pressure or diabetes complications?
(Phaseolus, Aconite, Viscum album)
Is the problem valvular in origin? (Kalmia, Naja, Lauroceracus)
In each of these instances, the choice of remedies may differ depending
on their prominent scope of action. That is why it’s important to understand
the scope of indicated remedies – do they have a functional or hormonal action?
Do they have an action on muscular fiber or renal perfusion and filtration or
electrolytes, etc.
Cardiac Asthma is a cardiac induced asthmatic condition of the lungs –
heart failure here (right sided) that involves the pulmonary circulation and
its compensatory mechanisms. Here the focus would be to choose remedies that
have an action on pulmonary circulation and lung parenchyma in addition to
cardiac scope. (Grindelia, Antim Ars, Ars Alb, Digitalis, Aspidosperma
Quebracho)
Coronary Artery Disease: Is the manifestation of coronary arteries
hardened by atherosclerosis and narrowed, resulting in reduced oxygen supply to
the heart muscle. Depending on which artery is affected, symptoms and ischemia
arise in supplied areas of the heart muscle.
It involves the two main arteries supplying the heart that arise right
out of the base of the Aorta. The Left Coronary Artery (LCA) divides into the
left anterior descending artery (LAD) and the circumflex branch, supplying
blood then to the heart ventricles and left atrium.
The Right coronary artery (RCA) divides into the right posterior
descending artery and a large marginal branch. It supplies blood to the heart
ventricles, right atrium and sino-atrial node.
Additional arteries that branch off the two main coronary arteries are:
The Circumflex artery (Cx) branches off the left coronary artery and
encircles the heart muscle, supplying blood to the back of the heart.
Left Anterior Descending (LAD) branches off the left coronary artery and
supplies blood to the front of the heart.
These are the main arteries that are investigated from atherosclerotic
plaques causing narrowing and precipitating coronary artery disease.
Atherosclerosis: a process of plaque formation and rupture that has been
observed in arteries.
The various stages include:
– Inflammation of arterial wall
– Leukocyte recruitment with accumulation of lipoproteins
– Cytokines and growth factors
– Fibrous tissue deposition with necrotic core
– smooth muscle cell synthesis à fibro-fatty lesion
– athero-thrombus: abundant plexuses of micro-vessels with vasovasorum
– foci for intra plaque rupture and hemorrhage
– Thrombosis and calcification of the ruptured area of the blood vessel
Angina Pectoris :
– imbalance between myocardial
blood supply and oxygen demand.
– usually exertional or from
emotional stress
– includes s/s choking, chest discomfort,
jaw/neck pain
Remedies: Aml-n. Cact. Adon.
Coronary Artery Vasospasm :
– Coronary atherosclerosis
– Location of obstruction of coronary arteries
– Duration of spasm : transient,
reversible (ischemia if <20 mins.), permanent (necrosis if >20 mins.)
Acute Coronary Syndrome:
This refers to a spectrum of
clinical presentations, including the previously mentioned atherosclerosis,
angina pectoris and coronary artery vasospasm.
The presentations clinically range from those of ST Segment Elevation
Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) to those found in Non- ST- Segment Elevation
Myocardial Infarction
(N-STEMI) or in unstable angina. It is almost always associated with
rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque or and partial or complete thrombosis of
the infarct related territory.
The Signs and Symptoms associated with primary ACS include:
Palpitation
Pain, which is usually
described as a pressure squeezing or burning sensation across the precordium
and may radiate to the neck, jaw, shoulder, back, abdomen or either arm
Exertional dyspnoea or pain
that resolves with rest
Diaphoresis from sympathetic
discharge
Nausea from vagal stimulation
Decreased exercise tolerance
Conclusion:
Homeopathic Cardiology can be a reality and a true hope for the future
in cardiac patients. It can be a reality because there are a host of clinical
conditions that modern medicine
still has no answers for. These include Cardiac Failure and
Cardiomyopathy where homeopathic remedies provide tremendous scope. Homeopathic
treatment provides recovery
from within, an area that modern medicine has no control over.
Homeopathic treatment provides treatment for stress induced conditions and
hence works as a preventive of
cardiac emergencies. Homeopathic treatment is non invasive, inexpensive
and worth the investment for long term management, especially if the patient is
on good constitutional
treatment. The case in this issue of the journal: Cardiac Failure with Cardiomyopathy in a
patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia will illustrate this perspective.
[Farokh J. Master]
Homoeopathic Treatment of Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac arrest is defined as sudden failure of the heart resulting in
inadequate cerebral circulation. Cardiac standstill is responsible for majority
of the cases, the other mechanism
being ventricular fibrillation and electro mechanical dissociation. In
my experience, the most common cause of cardiac arrest is myocardial
infarction, or severe pulmonary embolism,
or any case of severe arrhythmia in presence of chronic obstruction to
the circulation. These are some of the very common causes that I have seen in
my practice. I also came across,
though rarely, a few cases of Hyperkalemia and Hyperkalemia producing
what is known as ‘cardiac arrest’.
Patients should be diagnosed at a very early stage. Such patients should
not be diagnosed at a very late stage. The earliest symptom is absence of
pulsation in the carotid, or absence
of pulsation in the temporal artery, or absence of pulsation in the
femoral artery, or when the consciousness is affected. The late stage is when
you cannot record the blood pressure,
the pupils are dilated and the patient goes in severe convulsions. I am
not talking about extreme cases where hospitalization or treatment in the I.C.U
is required. The milder forms
can easily be treated with homoeopathy. Of course, certain precautions
must be taken and nursing care should be done.
The most important thing is to put the patient in supine position on a
firm surface, such as wooden board on the floor. You should try and give the
patient cardiac massage, where you strike the left upper chest forcibly with
your fist and this can restart the heart, if the arrest is due to asystole. The
basic C.P.R. should always be maintained, i.e. where airway
is cleared, the breathing is made effective and the circulation
restored. Now let us see which homoeopathic medicines have been extremely
useful to me for the above condition and I will tell you some important hints.
Ars.: Nervousness, anxiousness and restlessness with agonizing fear of
death, this observation of the patient’s state of mind is extremely important.
Restlessness is characterized by changing the places continually and extreme
fear of being left alone. Sometimes only moaning is seen in the patient. If you
examine the patient systematically from head to foot, you will observe that any
cold air or draft of air coming on the head is extremely intolerable to the
patient. This is very important to observe. The head may feel slightly heavy.
The scalp may be sometimes sensitive to touch. Eyes are either sunken or
protruding, eyelids may look a little edematous and the nose looks extremely
pointed. There is a very nice symptom and that is sometimes the person feels
dyspnea (nose). So he may complain of difficulty in breathing and this is
basically focused around the nose.
The face may look pale, anxious, sunken, haggard or even hippocratic.
The lips appear little blackish and the tongue is bluish-white, or it looks
very red, but in general it is a dry tongue. The person may grind the teeth in
the unconscious state or he may bite the glass while drinking. There is also
lisping. The saliva can be bloody, the throat is slightly swollen. This is
important if the patient is a little conscious and he cannot bear the smell or
sight or thought of food and there is unquenchable thirst for ice cold water
but it distresses the stomach and the patient cannot digest it. This is very
common. There is a sign of gastritis. This is very important to know in short.
The stool will be on the loose side and there can
be ascites if there is right ventricular failure. The urine will be
scanty, and a lot of albumin seen in the urine. Shortness of breath and will be
unable to lie down and he feels very comfortable sitting up. His discomfort in
respiration is <: even by turning in
the bed. Most of the symptoms of Arsenic are worst at night, after 12 h.
There is severe palpitation with anguish. Any slightest cause will
increase the palpitation. The palpitations lying on the back. If at all there
is chest pain it goes to the neck and occipital area, but with severe anxiety
and lots of fainting spells.
Pulse is usually more rapid in the morning. Used in all affections which
lasts for a long time which explains the hopelessness that takes possession of
the patient. The patient
always feels that he never will be cured and that it is useless to take
the medicine. There is an anxiety and fear of death < 24 – 2 h. The patient
becomes restless and despite
his worn-out condition he must move. He must change places in the bed.
Sometimes if he can, he gets up and sits on the chair, which he soon leaves for
the bed. Oppressed
by the least movement and the dyspnea is exasperating between 24 – 3 h.
The patient has swollen eye-lids, looks edematous (lower eye-lids)/the skin
appears pale and waxy
and there is localized or generalized edema.
Carb-v.: Flat, usually on the fatter side, sluggish,
little lazy and usually old people, one may not see Carb-v. in young people. A
very unique symptom that one may see in such
a patient who is in the hospital is that they need excessive fanning,
but despite the fanning, the head remains hot. If at all there is any
haemorrhage from any organ of the body,
it will be dark red oozing. There will be severe weakness, air-hunger
and excessive flatulence. These are the few important concomitants. The level
of the mind of the patient is extremely slow, there is a lot of indifference
similar to Ph-ac. Indolent, lazy and appears slightly stupid.
The face is pinched and hippocratic, the face is cold due to cold sweat
and there is twitching of the upper lip. There is slight epistaxis from the
nose, the pupils do not react to light, i.e. when one throws light on the pupil
with a torch the pupils will not show any reaction, there is cold sweat on the
forehead, but the head is hot and the extremities cold. The breath also cold
and the tongue black, swollen and covered with white-yellow-brown mucous.
There is an extremely offensive or horrible smell from the mouth.
Possible I excessive saliva. The abdomen is heavy and full with excessive
flatulence, there is a lot of albumin in the urine, but here, instead of scanty
urine, sometimes one may find little more urine and this is important. Then,
one sees a typical cough which is extremely tormenting, hollow and choking type
of cough and with this cough there is easy vomiting.
The voice is rough, one may also find a chyenne stoke respiration, the
extremities are heavy, stiff and almost feels paralyzed. The cough can be very
exhausting to the patient, it is a very hard, paroxysmal cough.
Either the paroxysms consist of a few coughs or it could be a long paroxysm.
The expectoration is usually bloody (important symptom). There could be
pulmonary edema on X-ray chest or there could be severe septicemia with heart
failure almost always + a stage of shock, this is very important in a Carbo-veg
patient. Skin has a tendency to develop bedsores much more easily than anybody
else.
Another very important hint that I observed is when Carb-v. is in a
comatose or unconscious condition due to cardiac asystole one can hear a
typical rattling in the throat (Ant-t. has this rattling sound in the chest).
Dig.: Slow, weak pulse and the pulse should be a
little irregular. On examination, the liver has to be enlarged/excessive
precordial anxiety with frequent urging to urinate, these are the concomitants
that one should look at. Dig. resembles Ars.: extremely anxious and extremely
fearful. This anxiety basically roots from their troubled conscientious. May
complain of frontal headache but the head usually falls down whenever they are
sitting or whenever they are walking. The eye and the conjunctiva appears
slightly yellowish, the pupils can be little irregular, the eyes can be bluish
but the veins are distended in the eyes.
The tongue could be blue, clean with nausea and vomiting, or could be
thick, or could be flabby. Usually drinks much and eats little. The liver is
enlarged, painful and hard to touch. There is distension of the abdomen and one
can find early traces of jaundice in the form of high bilirubin. The breathing
is a little slow, and in Digitalis, just like in Ant-tart, the patient cannot
expectorate. In case the patient has to expectorate because of the severe
congestion, he will only vomit. So this is also important that the patient
cannot expectorate and if the patient has to expectorate he will only vomit due
to severe congestion. This causes great weakness in the chest, he cannot even
bear to talk, he suffocates and he drops to sleep. He talks little bit and he
drops to sleep, he talks little bit and he drops to sleep. Such is the type of
cardiac weakness one can see in the patients of Digitalis. Any least movement
causes severe palpitation in various sorts of arrhythmias in case of Digitalis.
The heart will be hypertrophied or dilated, there can be cardiac dropsy and the
root cause behind this cardiac problem will be either severe grief or some
depression. Pulse will be slow, weak and irregular, the skin COLD to touch and
the patient will constantly be in a state of drowsiness.
[Rosina Sonnenschmidt]
Lach.:
Körperebene Schatten/Licht der Psyche Schatten/Licht der Mentalebene
ZNS, Blut, Herz, Kreislauf,
Hals, Schilddrüse,
Ovarien
Haut
Tonsillitis, Ulzeration, Nekrosen, Diphtherie,
Migräne,
Angina pectoris, Apoplex
- geschwätzig, zwanghaft, psychotisch, eifersüchtig, zweifelnd, intrigant + wortgewandt, künstlerisch begabt für die Bühne, hellfühlend begabt
- Fixierung auf eine Sache, denkunfähig, Wortfindungsstörungen
+ Interesse an medialen Fähigkeiten
Naja.:
Körperebene Schatten/Licht der Psyche Schatten/Licht der Mentalebene
Nerven, Herz, Atmung,
Hals, Ovar links
Gefühl von Zusammenschnürung in Hals und Brust,
Herzasthma, Endokarditis
Sprachverlust, Ödeme
- vergesslich, wahnhaft, verwirrt, verstummt, melancholisch, Angst allein gelassen zu werden + hellhörig, sensitiv, kreativ, Ausdruck einer natürlichen Autorität
- geistig gelähmt, brütende Gedanken über eingebildete Probleme, lang andauernde Gedanken über einen realen Kummer + Weitblick, Visionen, geistige Klarheit,
Reflexion über den Sinn von Leben und Tod, scharfer Verstand
Beide Schlangenwesen verkörpern in Bezug auf Herz und Kreislauf die gleichmäßige Schwingung und das Alles-oder-Nichts-Prinzip des Herzens, denn der Urstoff der Giftschlangen ist tödlich und greift unmittelbar ins Lebenszentrum.
Für Lach. o. Naja. ist die Wahrung der respektvollen Distanz wichtig, damit sie den gebührenden Raum (ein)nehmen können.
So kommunikativ bis hin zur Redseligkeit Lach. auch sein kann, sie strahlt Respekt und Kühle aus. Sie ist sehr wählerisch, wem sie wirklich ihr Herz öffnet, wen sie an sich heranläßt.
Schlangen-Persönlichkeiten finden wir häufig unter Sängern oder Schauspielern, denn Wort, Ton und Stimme sind ihr zentrales Ausdrucksmittel. Das zeigt sich auch im Bezug zu den Atemorganen. Für sie ist der lange
Atem und ein gut funktionierendes Herz besonders notwendig, denn beide Künstler leisten Schwerstarbeit auf der Bühne, die Zuhörer und Zuschauer niemals merken sollten. Ein körperliches Problem zeigt sich besonders
Bei Sängern, die ein so genanntes „Sportlerherz“, also ein vergrößertes Herz entwickeln, ohne sportlich zu sein. Sie bewegen sich körperlich nur wenig, stehen viel, doch die Atem- und Herzleistung ist gewaltig.
Die positive und gesundheitsfördernde Seite des Singens ist indes die Stärkung des venösen Blutflusses und damit des rechten Herzens und Lungenkreislaufs durch das tiefe Atmen und den ausgeprägten Zwerchfellrhythmus. Deshalb finden wir bei Sängern selten Krampfadern oder Varizenbildung.
Naja comp. w [= Lach. + Naja
+ Crot-h. + Vip. Covers all 3 venom types (hemotoxic + neurotoxic +
cytotoxic)/represents a kind of “archetypal” snake venom/associated with all 3
planes (circumscribed cytolysis in the area of infarction/coagulation disorder
that is nearly always present/neurological losses)];
Lat-m.:
Körpersymptome Schatten/Licht der Psyche Schatten/Licht der Mentalebene
Nerven, Brust, Atemwege,
Gefäße der Extremitäten,
Angina pectoris, Alkoholismus.
Extreme Apnoe,
klonische Muskelkrämpfe,
Taubheitsgefühl, Zittern und Lähmung der oberen und unteren Extremitäten, eiskalte Haut mit kaltem Schweiß,
schreit vor Schmerzen - unruhig, verstört, panisch, depressiv, gewalttätig.
Auffällig: Weinen und Weinerlichkeit bei Männern + gelassen, in sich ruhend, geduldig, kann warten, weibliche Stärke leben (Wahl des richtigen Zeitpunkts)
- Leben verachtend, Zerstörung von Normen, Gesetzen, Konventionen, Regeln, eigene Gesetze bestimmend,
Egozentrik + Eremitenbewusstsein, Solist, Grenzüberschreitung im Denken und Handeln, starker Pioniergeist, lässt sich durch nichts aufhalten, kümmert sich nicht um das, was andere sagen
Diese Spinne könnte man in ihrem Wesen und Bezug zu Herz und Blutkreislauf als hohe Potenzierung von Puls. bezeichnen, auch wenn die Blume harmlos ist im Vergleich zum aggressiven Gift der Spinne.
Aber sie ähneln sich in der Unkonventionalität ihres Verhaltens und ihrer harmonikalen Ordnung des freien Rhythmus, der Improvisation, die, wie für Lat. typisch, gerne ihre eigenen Regeln und Gesetze einbaut.
Lat-m.-Persönlichkeiten verfügen über eine schier unerschöpfliche Ressource kreativen Potenzials.
Wir finden sie unter Forschern und Künstlern gleichermaßen, die von der Verwirklichung einer Idee wie besessen sind und sich durch nichts und niemanden aufhalten lassen. Ihr Energiefluss gleicht einer starken Schnellen Strömung, was sich körperlich in dem ungestörten, rhythmisch variierenden Blutfluss in den Arterien ausdrückt. Für diese vitalen Persönlichkeiten ist es von zentraler Bedeutung, dass die Versorgung mit Blut und Nährstoffen bis in die Zehen und Finger der Extremitäten gelangt. Das geht nur, wenn die Kapillaren durchlässig sind. Deshalb ist die Ernährung das Heilmittel schlechthin. Unterstützt mit Lat-m. hilft es
as sauerstoffreiche Blut ungehindert zu transportieren. Das wichtigste Thema ist Klärung von Grenzen.
‡ Folgendes hat
anthroposofische Einschlüße ‡
[Nicholas Lee, M.D.]
Today the idea that the heart may not be a pump
after all would, appear
to be about as logical as a suggestion that the sun actually rises in the West
or that waterfalls flow upwards. So strongly is the pump concept ingrained in
the collective medical psyche that even trying to think otherwise is more than
most people can manage.
R.S., a man not given to unscientific or
slipshod thinking, was quite clear on the matter and reiterated time and again
that the heart is not a pump. "Today, external theory makes the heart a
pump, pumping the blood through the body. So one would have to see in the heart
the organ that regulates the circulation. Actually, the reverse is true. The
circulation is more original, and in its movements the heart gives a resounding
of what goes on in the circulation. The blood drives the heart, not the heart
the blood“.
Ralph Marinelli and his co-workers whose
recently-published paper refutes the generally-accepted pressure propulsion
premise of heart function and confirms the observations of R.S.
Having gotten over the initial difficulty of
thinking what has previously been thought to be unthinkable, any unbiased
reader must surely admit that Marinelli et al make a convincing and
well-referenced case for their conclusions. For a start, they draw attention to
the sheer volume of work which the heart would have to do if it were solely
responsible for pumping inert blood through the vessels of the circulatory
system. Blood is 5x more viscious as water, and if the propulsion premise is
accepted, the heart would have to pump 8000 liters of blood a day in a body at
rest and considerably more during activity, through millions of capillaries the
diameters of which are sometimes smaller than the red blood cells themselves -
a huge task for a relatively small, muscular organ weighing only 300 grams.
This is an unlikely concept which is compounded by the inherent undesirability
of a system which would need excessive pressure generated at its source for
sufficient pressure to remain at the periphery.
Once the questions are asked, the anomalies in
currently-accepted dogma manifest themselves. For instance, if the blood is
pumped under pressure out of the left ventricle into the aorta during systole,
it would be expected that the pressure pulse would cause the aortic arch to try
and straighten out, as happens in any Bourdon tube pressure gauge. In practice,
the exact opposite happens, and the curve increases, indicating that the aorta
is undergoing a negative, rather than a positive, pressure.
Another paradoxical finding concerns the
mechanics of fluid flow under pulsatile pressure. When a pressure pulse is
applied to a viscous fluid in a closed vessel, the liquid initially resists
movement through its own inertia.
The pressure, therefore, peaks before the fluid
velocity peaks. In the aorta, exactly the opposite happens where peak flow
markedly precedes peak pressure, a fact which was observed in 1860 by Chauvau
Cortet. So just what is going on inside the circulation?
As Marinelli et al point out, the pressure
propulsion model of blood circulation rests on four major premises:
1) blood is naturally inert and must,
therefore, be forced to circulate;
2) there is a random mix of the formed
particles in the blood;
3) the cells in the blood are under pressure at
all times;
4) blood is amorphous and is forced to fill its
vessels and take on their form.
All of these premises can be shown to be
faulty. For example, far from having a random mix of the blood components in
vessels, the cellular elements arrange themselves in a highly organized flow
pattern in which the heavier red blood cells flow nearest to the axis of the
vessels while the lighter platelets are nearer to the periphery. All of the
formed elements are surrounded by a sleeve of plasma which is in contact with
the vessel wall.
However, a major misconception about how the
blood circulates is the assumption that it flows in a laminar fashion, whereas
the main pattern appears to be the vortex (observation also made by others)
which leads to a whole new concept of circulatory dynamics, one which goes a
long way towards explaining the close interaction between the heart and the
blood, both of which are derived from the same embryonic material. Much of the
experimental work carried out by Marinelli and his colleagues is based on
elucidating the mechanics of vortex-based fluid flow, and their work describing
a perpetual vortex in the left ventricle makes fascinating reading.
R.S. pointed out, the clues to circulatory
physiology are to be found in embryology, and two of the main embryological
observations have been that the blood starts circulating before the heart has
been fully formed and that it circulates in a spiraling fashion. Not only may
these streams spiral around their own longitudinal axes, but even
around each other as in the single-stage tube heart of the chicken before the
valves have developed.
The spiraling of the blood flow is mirrored in
the musculature of the heart and arteries, both of which move in a twisting
motion which augments the momentum of the blood as it circulates.
So why are we concerned about the way in which
the blood circulates and the ‘heart as a pump’ paradox? Do we not already know
enough about the circulation in conventional terms for all practical purposes?
No. Is all this really relevant? Yes. Not only should truth be sought for its
own sake, but therapy based upon faulty premises can only be bad therapy. As
Marinelli et al point out in their paper, "Since we have observed that the
blood has a highly dynamic form and an ordered blood corpuscle motion and
orientation, we should be able to develop devices and techniques to detect
small deviations from group and individual norms and, thus, form a basis for
very early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, which remains the number one
cause of death in the U.S.
[W. Köster]
Das Herz
Wie eine erstrangige Pracht- oder Kaiserstraße wirkt die mächtigste aller Venen. Auch die Teilchen aus der Leber, die nicht den Weg der Galle genommen haben, gleiten hier zu ihrem nächsten Ziel. Wer mag sie in Empfang nehmen? Für welchen Kaiser haben alle vorherigen Organe gearbeitet? Für das Herz. Der Gelbe Kaiser Hoang Ti schreibt kurz und bündig: »Das Herz hat die Funktion des Herrschers; es ist der Sitz des Geistes«. Was macht es zum Herrscher?
Das Herz arbeitet rege und fleißig etwas links von der Mitte des Brustkorbes. Es lässt das ankommende Blut in seinen rechten Vorhof, eine Erste kleine Kammer, hineinfließen.
Es öffnet die nächste Tür, eine so genannte Herzklappe. Das Blut fließt in seine rechte Kammer. Kaum hier angekommen, wird das Blut mit mächtig geballter Kraft schon wieder durch die Blutgefäße herausgepumpt. Dann dreht das Blut eine Ehrenrunde in der Lunge und landet erneut im Herzen, nun allerdings in dem anderen, dem linken Vorhof.
Hier beginnt das Spiel aufs Neue.
Die Tür geht auf, das Blut fließt in die linke Herzkammer, die noch stärker als die rechte ist. Und schon saust es kraftvoll hinaus in alle Regionen des Körpers vom Scheitel bis
zur Sohle. Gegenüber dem langsamen Rutschen des Speisebreis in den Magen und die anderen Organe fällt die hier auftretende Beschleunigung mächtig ins Auge.
Harmonie zwischen Partnern
Dem kraftvollen Druck des Herzens unterwirft sich jeder, der in den Blutkreislauf vorgelassen wurde, und dies immer wieder aufs Neue. Hier wiederholt sich eine Generalaudienz im zentralen Palast des Körpers. Er liegt nicht nur in der Mitte, sondern er stellt auch einen Mittag dar. Hier scheint die Sonne im Zenit zu stehen. Nicht umsonst waren die Gallenteilchen bitter enttäuscht, so kurz vor dem Höhepunkt ausscheiden zu müssen. Was mag an diesem Zentrum und Herrscher so faszinieren?
Was für ein Höhepunkt wird hier erlebt? Der altchinesische Gelbe Kaiser meinte: »Es ist die Sache des Herzens, die Harmonie zu sichern«. Wie kam er auf diese Idee?
Auch das Herz baut auf seine Vorgänger. Es muss ihnen vertrauen. Versagen Leber und Galle und gelangen Störenfriede ins Blut, dann wehe dem Herzen! Es nimmt alles auf, was mit dem Blut anschwimmt. Wer in solcher Abhängigkeit lebt, der muss vertrauen und auf Harmonie setzen. Ein Herrscher mit Vertrauen auf Harmonie?
[James Dyson]
‡ Lilipoh Interviews Dr. James Dyson
Question: What is the real essence of
the heart?
Dr. Dyson: As an organ it has less
propensity to disease than other organs; in fact it helps sustain the health of
the other organs. What popularly goes by the name of 'heart pathology' actually
has more to do with problems of circulation. Much of what is termed `heart
failure' should actually be called circulatory failure. And that brings us to a
medical mystery which is still hardly acknowledge today, namely that the heart
is a sensing organ and not
a mechanical pump. This is widely recognized
in physiological research, yet we are still burdened with this crude,
mechanical and outmoded concept. Rudolf Steiner wanted doctors to overcome the
notion of the heart as a pump.
He said it would be a precondition for a
renewal of social life.
Question: If the heart is not a pump,
what is its relation to blood?
Dr. Dyson: The heart has the task of
maintaining the pressure within that relatively small section of the arterial
circulatory system bounded by mechanical laws. By far the larger part of the
circulation, namely the capillary system, transcends these laws. This is a
system with microsocopic dimensions yet enormous surface area which, from
a mathematical point of view, may
be understood as approaching infinity.
How the heart contributes to the maintaining of the pressure can probably best
be understood by the image of the hydraulic ram (see image), and also by the
fact that through its architecture and movement it maximizes an efficiency
within the fluid dynamics status of the circulation.
Question: Is the cross formed by the
septa (walls) between the chambers an image of the function of the heart?
Dr. Dyson: The upper chambers of the
heart, which are separate from the main body of heart muscle, have more of a
sensory function; the lower chambers more a metabolic function. The
fourfoldness of the chambers is an expression
of the heart in its relation to the
earth realm. The metaphorical fifth chamber connects back to the etheric realm and
raises the mineral cube to the plant rose.* The real cross in the heart is
between the pulmonary artery and the aorta. This cross may be seen as the
midpoint within the lemniscate of the pulmonary and systemic circulations.
Question: What relation does the warmth
of the blood have to our warmth of soul?
Dr. Dyson: The warmth of the blood and
warmth of the soul are no doubt inseparable. The former serves the latter
and has it origin more in physiological
processes. That latter reenlivens the former and has its origins more in
the communion of soul and spirit
Question: What does R.S. mean when he
says that a new understanding of the heart would have an effect on social life?
Dr. Dyson: The heart works less through
the principle of pushing and more as a receiving organ into which the blood is
“sucked” during diastole. The origin of circulatory movement is primarily in
the capillaries. That is to say, the movement arises in the periphery and is
not hierarchically controlled from the center. Therein also lie a mystery of
the social life.
*The Fifth Chamber of the Heart
It is gradually being surmised that
feeling perception has a basis in certain plant-like metabolic areas of the
heart such as the nodes between atrium and ventricle. So constant is the delicate
activity and interplay that one may easily imagine a fine evolving structure,
created out of purified ideas and ideals; a future fifth chamber. ‡
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum