Karen, a 38 year-old estate agent, had intermittent palpitations for a number of years. Though sometimes she could feel the fast and irregular heartbeat herself, no obvious heart problems had been caught by the Electrocardiograph examination. The palpitations often came when she felt tired and stressed, and was accompanied with short breath, hot flushes and lethargy. She had a lot of night sweats which could be so bad that she had to change her pajamas and bed sheets. The left side of her back also hurt. Her periods were regular but scanty, with brownish blood, only lasted for one day. She had been on Beta Blocker for about half a year and didn’t seem to get any help. In the first session of acupuncture I used the points Feng Men, Du Shu, Pi Shu and left Da Chang Shu, which were all in the back. She had very bad sweats in the night after the treatment then had six good nights without sweating. Her palpitations were so much better that she wasn’t sure if she had actually had any, and her back stopped hurting. The only symptoms she could tell me were slight short breath and lethargy. In the second session I used some different points, which were Zhong Wan, Qi Hai, Tian Shu, Nei Guan, Zu San Li and San Yin Jiao. When she came for the third session, she was very sure that she hadn’t had any palpitations, and actually had felt more energetic. Even her bowels movements were more regular than before. Since she became really busy with work, Karen's visits to my clinic became less regular. She still comes now and then for some minor ailments, and the palpitations are not a problem anymore.
