Friday, 25 May 2012

Heart Attack – Ayurvedic Panchkarma


The heart is a vital organ of the body that needs dedicated care. Keeping a healthy heart is essential for general well-being and is a key to good health. Ayurveda believes that the heart not only performs the fundamental function of pumping blood to various parts of the body but is also considered to be the seat of the mind and soul.

The heart keeps the body alive by circulating blood to all parts and also controls and monitors various emotions. The ayurvedic term for a heart disease is ‘Hrudroga’. According to ayurveda, the primary causes of all hrudroga are stress, tension, smoking, alcoholism and consumption of unhealthy and fatty food. There are a number of herbal drugs and therapies that have been formulated to fight heart attack and its after-effects. Some such herbs are amlaki, haritaki, guduchi and so on.

In ayurveda, panchkarma is a treatment used to detoxify the body, build up the immune system and restore balance and well-being of the body. This is a five-fold therapy that aims to cleanse the body of all toxic materials so that it can use energy efficiently. For a specific type of disease and the corresponding toxins in the body, a particular type of Panchkarma measure is selected. Here are the five parts of the Panchkarma therapy:

Vamana (Therapeutic Vomiting)
This refers to induced vomiting in order to get rid of excess kapha in the body. This is especially useful in treating the heart as any heart disease builds up kapha in the body.

Virechana (Therapeutic Purgation)
In this purification process, a number of herbs are used as laxative to cleanse the body of all pitta doshas in the body. This process is especially useful in curing hypertension which is a major cause of heart attack. 

Asthapana (Therapeutic Enema with Herbal Water)
This process of purification is conducted to placate excess vata in the body. It mainly helps in curing disease affecting the lower portion of the body. It also helps in allaying heart pain.

Nasya (Medication through Nose)
This process involves boiling water with medicinal herbs and then inhaling the vapour. It usually alleviates problems related to kapha.

Blood Letting (Rakta Moksha)
This process helps in removing toxins in the bloodstream that have been absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. It relieves several pitta disorders.

Apart from undertaking various ayurveda medication and therapies, one also needs to bring about a conscious change in diet and lifestyle in order to maintain a healthy heart.


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