When the Heart's Gateway, the AV Node, Closes
For electrical signals to pass from the heart's upper chamber (atrium) to the lower chamber (ventricle), they must pass through a gateway called the AV Node.
This acts as a 'station' that briefly delays the signal so the ventricle can fill sufficiently with blood.
However, if this gateway narrows or blocks due to aging, ischemia (lack of blood), or inflammation, signal transmission problems arise.
- 1st Degree Block: Signals arrive late. (Almost no symptoms)
- 2nd Degree Block: Signals are occasionally cut off, causing the pulse to skip. (Dizziness, palpitations)
- 3rd Degree Block: Signals are completely blocked, causing the atrium and ventricle to beat independently. (Syncope, heart failure, risk of sudden death) Particularly, Mobitz II or 3rd-degree block are dangerous conditions where the heart could stop at any moment.
BM's Perspective: Clearing Blocked Paths, Connecting Severed Pulses.
BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic asks, "Why was the electrical signal blocked?"
While conventional medicine views fibrosis or sclerosis of the conduction system as irreversible aging, from the perspective of Korean Medicine, this is the result of Stasis of Heart Vessel (Sim-maek-eo-jo / 心脈瘀阻) and Internal Accumulation of Phlegm-Turbidity (Dam-tak-nae-on / 痰濁內蘊).
- Stasis of Heart Vessel (Sim-maek-eo-jo): A state where blood stasis accumulates in the microvessels and conduction tissue of the heart, interfering with signal transmission.
- Internal Accumulation of Phlegm-Turbidity (Dam-tak-nae-on): A state where waste products (Phlegm-turbidity) accumulate, hardening tissues and blocking electrical flow.
Before simply connecting the severed signal with a machine, we perform treatment that clears waste blocking the conduction system and opens the path of circulation.
