As a cardiovascular and geriatric clinician who has been engaged in TCM clinical work for more than 30 years, whether in the outpatient clinic or in the ward, people often consult TCM on how to maintain health, how to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, etc. , indicating that the public’s health awareness is getting stronger and stronger. When it comes to health preservation in traditional Chinese medicine, I believe that all diseases are born from qi, and regulating qi is health preservation. Xu Fengqin, Department of Cardiology, Xiyuan Hospital, Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
my country has entered an aging society. In 1991, the World Health Organization survey and statistics pointed out that 15% of an individual’s healthy lifespan depends on heredity, 10% depends on social factors, 8% depends on health service factors, 7% depends on climate factors, and 60% depends on behavior and lifestyle. This study shows that although longevity genes have a certain impact on human lifespan, it mainly depends on what kind of lifestyle you choose, which accounts for 60%. Therefore, it is very important to maintain health and prevent illness.
As early as more than 2000 years ago, the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine clearly told us how to maintain health: “For those who know it, the law is yin and yang, and the number of techniques is used. If you work rashly, you can combine the form with the spirit, and you will end your days, and you will be gone when you are a hundred years old.” This means that if you understand and practice the way of health preservation, you will be healthy and prolong your life.
Nowadays, everyone attaches great importance to exercise. More and more people walk and even run. They also attach great importance to diet and health. The number of smokers has also declined with the increase of publicity and the ban on smoking in public places. , but many people ignore the spiritual health, and spiritual health is the most important in the way of life.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that all diseases are caused by Qi, and all diseases will not be caused by the flow of Qi. In the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, there is an exposition that “all diseases arise from qi, anger causes qi to rise, joy causes qi to slow down, sadness causes qi to disappear, fear causes qi to fall”, “frightened qi disorder” and “thought causes qi stagnation”. It clearly points out the influence of joy, anger, worry, thinking, sadness, fear, and shock on the human body, causing abnormal movement of qi, which in turn leads to abnormal body or mind, and many disease syndromes appear. Wang Qishi, a well-known health caregiver in the Ming Dynasty, also pointed out in the “Chinese and Foreign Health Essentials”: “Health care should be based on nourishing the heart. If the heart is not sick, the mind will not be sick, and if the mind is not sick, people will be at peace.”
Statistics found At present, there are more than 200 kinds of diseases related to emotions. Among all the sick people, more than 70% are related to emotions. At present, many patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in the clinic are combined with mental diseases. We often see people in film and television works and committing heart attacks while holding their chests when they are angry. Therefore, I advocate the coordination of mind and body in clinical treatment, and set up a double-heart clinic. While treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases with drugs, I pay attention to humanistic care, and provide psychological counseling and emotional adjustment to patients.
A male patient in his 60s had several coronary stents due to coronary heart disease angina pectoris, but after stenting, he felt that angina pectoris was always repeated, and his condition did not ease at all, and even worsened. , repeatedly called 120 to the hospital to see the emergency room, this is double heart disease. A friend introduced him to come to see me for diagnosis and treatment. After the patient’s symptoms disappeared completely after the Chinese medicine treatment of nourishing blood, softening the liver, clearing heat, promoting blood circulation and relieving spasm, and patiently dredging.
In my outpatient clinic, I also treated a female hypertensive patient. She went to work during the day and took care of the sick and bedridden elderly at night. She was under great work pressure and had poor rest at night. She was usually short-tempered. When you feel uncomfortable, your blood pressure will suddenly rise. This situation is very dangerous, especially for patients with hyperactive yang, who are prone to stroke. Therefore, every time I see a doctor, I give her health education on the harmfulness of emotional disease. Through patient and careful listening and timely persuasion, the patient adjusts his mentality and lifestyle, and feels a lot of benefits.
In 2017, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine launched the Capital TCM Treatment and Health Project. As the chief technical officer of the high blood pressure technical team, I formulated a set of “exercise, diet, psychology, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine non-drugs”. “Therapy” five-in-one technical plan for the treatment of high blood pressure, which includes psychological treatment methods, which has won a lot of recognition.
Therefore, those who are good at maintaining health must first focus on regulating qi, and the harmony of qi and machine will prolong life. Ancient and modern Chinese and foreign, the vast majority of long-lived elderly people are mostly cheerful, happy, loyal, kind, positive and optimistic people. Therefore, the most important secret of longevity is to be in a good mood, to be able to afford it and to put it down.
(The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Xiyuan Hospital, Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences)