AYURVEDIC TREATMENT OF ANGINA PECTORIS
INTRODUCTION
We all know that eating loads saturated fats and leading a sedentary lifestyle can be damaging to our hearts, but today’s supercharged lifestyle replete with cell phones, sky-high mortgage payments, and seven-day work weeks can also damage our hearts. Diet and lifestyle are major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many disorders.
ABOUT ANGINA PECTORIS
Chest pain is due to inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscles. Angina can be a precursor of heart attack. It is sensation of chest pain, pressure, squeezing, often due to ischemia of heart muscles from spasm of coronary arteries. Angina usually makes its appearance as a person reaches the age of 50 years and most often, it claims the life of person it affects. It is today one of the leading causes of deaths of people all over the world.
CAUSES OF ANGINA PECTORIS
Angina pectoris is blockage of blood arteries in the heart because of presence of cholesterol deposition, which further obstruct the blood supply to the heart muscles.
This could occur due to:-
- Unhealthy diet
- Stressful life
- Smoking
- Intake of alcohol
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Family history
SYMPTOMS OF ANGINA PECTORIS
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Fatigue
- Breathlessness
- Anxiety
- Dizziness
- Discomfort and pain in back, neck and shoulders
- Chest pain
CLASSIFICATION OF ANGINA PECTORIS
Angina pectoris is classified into two types:-
- Stable angina
- Unstable angina
AYURVEDIC ASPECT OF ANGINA PECTORIS
Ayurvedic name of angina is HRITSHOOLA. It is derived from two words hirday means ‘heart’ and shool means ‘thorn’ or pain. So hritshoola means ‘thorn in the heart’. Angina pectoris is due to aggravated kapha dosha. Kapha is heavy, dense, stable, sticky, wet and cold in nature. It controls weight and formation of seven tissues fluid, blood, fat, muscles, bones, marrow and reproductive tissues. In angina ama accumulates in hirdayvahi channels and cause blockage. Due to the blockage of heart channels vata dosha is aggravated. Vata symbolizes air or wind. It is dry, mobile, cool in nature and it cause pain in heart.
Following major causes trigger hirchool according to ayurvedic principle:-
- Ativyaam– overexertion of body
- Abhighaat– mental trauma
- Bohjana – unhealthy diet
- Patana – sudden fall or physical shock
- Ativyavaya – repeated course of sex