Treatments in Conventional Medicine and Their Limitations
If symptoms are severe, conventional medicine uses beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers to lower the heart rate, or prescribes potent antiarrhythmic drugs.
If not controlled by medication, Catheter Ablation is performed to burn and remove the abnormal area.
[Limitations and Critical Perspective]
Catheter ablation may be effective in removing abnormal signals in the short term, but since our body is organically connected, if the fundamental environment of the heart muscle is not improved, abnormal signals will arise again from other areas, causing recurrence at any time.
The fact that many patients visit us because arrhythmia recurred even after multiple procedures clearly demonstrates the limitations of local treatments that fail to see the forest for the trees.
Furthermore, potent antiarrhythmic drugs used to forcefully suppress the pulse in conventional medicine can drop cardiac output, leading to extreme fatigue or severe organ toxicity.
In particular, we must not blindly trust Statins prescribed for cardiovascular disease prevention, as they can deplete Coenzyme Q10, the energy source of the heart muscle, potentially reducing the heart's contractility and vitality in the long term.
BM's Integrative Solution: Designing Cardiopulmonary Stability Encompassing Chemical Drugs and Natural Substances
We do not divide medicine by the old dichotomy of 'Western medicine and herbal medicine.'
There are only artificially synthesized chemical drugs and natural substances derived from nature.
Based on Korean Medicine diagnosis theory, BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic provides true integrative treatment by operating and controlling the actions of chemical drugs according to Korean Medicine theory during emergencies or when potent suppression is needed to manage rapid symptoms, while utilizing natural substances and acupuncture for the long-term improvement of the heart muscle's environment.
- Invigorating Blood and Removing Stasis (Hwal-hyeol-geo-eo / 活血祛瘀): Using core natural substances like Nardostachys, Salvia, and Notoginseng to gently loosen micro-scars in the heart muscle and fundamentally improve the environment where abnormal electrical signals circulate through multi-ion channel regulation.
- Tonifying Heart and Lung (Bo-ik-sim-pye / 補益心肺): Replenishing exhausted energy with herbs like Ginseng, Astragalus, and Ophiopogon to aid the heart's regular pumping action from deep within.
- Acupuncture: Stimulating acupoints like Neiguan and Shenmen connected to the heart to balance the autonomic nervous system and relieve the anxiety and stress patients feel during attacks.
- Lifestyle Redesign (Health Freedom Camp): Through the HF Camp, we completely correct systemic risk factors and inflammatory diets, such as caffeine, sleep apnea, and obesity, which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system.
Improving the conditions around the heart to create a body environment where arrhythmia cannot occur is the completion of treatment.
Global Research Results Based on Modern Korean Medicine (Scientific Evidence)
Modern Korean Medicine does not stay in the past but integrates conventional medicine by actively accepting global clinical data.
The following are research results demonstrating that Korean Medicine procedures and core natural substances serve as better alternatives or powerful adjunctive therapies compared to chemical drugs or procedures of the existing universal medical system.
- Efficacy and Overwhelming Safety of Traditional Natural Substances on PVCs and Arrhythmias (Large-scale Meta-analysis) According to the latest 2024 global study involving 5,520 arrhythmia patients, the group administered core natural substances that bolster heart energy significantly reduced the frequency of PVCs and nonsustained tachycardia on 24-hour Holter monitoring more effectively than existing chemical drugs (antiarrhythmic agents). While the treatment efficacy rate was 14 percent higher, the incidence of side effects common with chemical drugs, such as bradycardia and hypotension, was 56 percent lower (RR=0.44), demonstrating that treatments utilizing natural substances are a safe and excellent alternative overcoming the limitations of chemical drugs.
- Ahn JY, Chu H, Leem J, Yun JM. Effectiveness and safety of traditional herbal medicine on cardiac arrhythmic condition: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control clinical trial. Medicine. 2024;103(23):e38441. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000038441
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- Chemical Drug Replacement Effect of Core Natural Substances Regulating Multi-Ion Channels Analysis of 2,469 patients showed that treatment groups using core natural substances like Nardostachys and Notoginseng had no difference in treatment efficacy in suppressing arrhythmias, including PVCs, compared to potent conventional chemical drugs like Propafenone or Amiodarone. Unlike chemical drugs that act on a single target and can induce long-term toxicity, natural substances proved their overwhelming safety by gently regulating multi-ion channels to protect the myocardium without side effects.
- Wang X, Wang Y, Feng XY, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on Wenxin keli. Drug Design Development and Therapy. 2016;Volume 10:3725-3736. doi:10.2147/dddt.s112333
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- Clinical Efficacy and Autonomic Stabilization Effect of Acupuncture on PVCs and Tachycardia A meta-analysis analyzing 797 patients, including those with paroxysmal tachycardia and PVCs, showed that the group receiving acupuncture at points like Neiguan and Shenmen had an arrhythmia suppression and recurrence prevention effect equivalent to the group taking potent chemical drugs. Acupuncture was proven to be a very safe and effective alternative procedure that maintains normal rhythm by stabilizing the autonomic nervous system without the risk of fatal thyroid and lung toxicity seen with chemical drugs.
- Li Y, Barajas-Martinez H, Li B, et al. Comparative effectiveness of acupuncture and antiarrhythmic drugs for the prevention of cardiac arrhythmias: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Physiology. 2017;8:358. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00358
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