Cumbria Acupuncture Blog

Robert, a 59 year-old joiner, suddenly started having a heart problem 18 months ago. He was soon diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (a condition with irregular heart rate), then had two cardioversions (electric shock treatment). Unfortunately, both of the two sessions just worked temporarily then the symptoms came back. When came to see me, Robert was having palpitations and short breath. Even walking could make the symptoms worse, not to mention any physical work. He felt so tired and was struggling with working. He also complained about aches and pains in his knees and right arm, which were probably due to his strenuous job. His tongue was red with yellow coating, and pulse was deep and fine, very irregular. I applied acupuncture in his back, legs and right arm. The following week he came back and told me he had played golf and felt a lot better. After the second session, he could comfortably play a golf session without having any discomfort. Though the irregular heart rate never went away, he generally felt so much better. Therefor after five weekly sessions, he decided to have acupuncture less frequently and only came when the fatigue became obvious. Four months after he came to see me, the doctor gave him a third cardioversion treatment which wasn't successful. Then a few months later he was referred to the Freeman hospital in Newcastle and had a catheter ablation (a procedure that carefully destroys the diseased area of the heart and interrupts abnormal electrical circuits). The operation went well and Robert had his regular heart rate back. Now he still comes to see me sometimes for his old aches and pains, and often mentions about how much acupuncture helped him for the heart problem.