Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
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226 <strong>Alternative</strong> <strong>Cardiovascular</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong><br />
be true in illnesses for which flare-ups are common, such as multiple<br />
sclerosis, migraine headache, and premenstrual syndrome, but can also be<br />
found in those with upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, cystitis, or<br />
digestive complaints. Differentiating at this juncture informs treatment<br />
options and affects both the homeopathic remedy choice and the dosage.<br />
For illnesses that are more chronic in nature, including most cardiovascular<br />
complaints, homeopathic practitioners prescribe constitutional<br />
remedies, which are based on the whole person, including his or her<br />
cardiac symptoms. There are many homeopathic remedies to be considered,<br />
although certain constitutional remedies are thought about more<br />
readily for patients with heart conditions. Homeopathic remedies are<br />
given for particular people, as opposed to particular diagnoses. One<br />
could have five patients with intermittent claudication, and they might<br />
receive five different remedies depending on how they experience the<br />
problem, i.e., how it actually feels, the type of pain or discomfort, what<br />
makes it better, what makes it worse, was there a clear initial etiology,<br />
does anything bring on each episode, are there any other simultaneous<br />
symptoms. The homeopath is interested in how the intermittent claudication<br />
fits into the rest of the person’s physical health. In addition, it is<br />
central to perceive how those physical characteristics sit vis-à-vis the<br />
patient’s mental and emotional health.<br />
To the homeopath, all symptoms are context-dependent: one cannot<br />
see a symptom in isolation, rather the homeopath seeks to understand<br />
each symptom a patient reports as it relates to the whole person. The<br />
typical intake for a homeopathic physician is 1–2 h, allowing enough<br />
time to fully understand the patient and all aspects of his or her lifestyle<br />
and health.<br />
This individualized approach would be used whether the presenting<br />
complaint was cardiovascular in nature, such as an arrhythmia, degenerative<br />
heart disease, valvular problem, peripheral vascular disease, or<br />
a condition relating to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, urinary system, or<br />
the skin. For some patients, there are few outward symptoms related to<br />
their pathology (i.e., some patients with hypertension or those with poor<br />
cholesterol profiles), making it difficult for the homeopath to prescribe<br />
on such a chief complaint. However, the homeopath can prescribe based<br />
on presenting symptoms from all systems of the body and from general<br />
physical characteristics of the patient, as well as from his or her mental<br />
and emotional makeup. Homeopathic physicians give a remedy for the<br />
patient and expect his or her overall health to improve, including cardiac<br />
symptoms.<br />
Many patients who present with heart symptoms are being simultaneously<br />
treated by cardiologists. For some of these patients, the problem