J Tradit Chin Med. 1990 Sep; 10(3): 182-8.

Acupuncture treatment of syncope based on differentiation of signs and symptoms.

Deng S.

Institute of Acupuncture, Sichuan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

1. The three typical cases reported above were syncopic patients of different types. Case 1 belonged to yin-depletion syndrome, case 2 pertained to yang-depletion syndrome, and case 3 Jue syndrome due to disturbance between qi and the blood induced by deficiency of qi and accumulation of phlegm. All of the three cases were satisfactorily cured with acupuncture and moxibustion though they did not respond to western medicines. 2. The rationale of acupuncture treatment for syncope includes: 1) Regulating yin and yang: For yin-depletion syndrome, reinforcing method is mainly adopted for nourishing water to promote reproduction of the body fluids and replenishing yin to restore yang; in case of yang-depletion syndrome, moxibustion and needle-warming methods are mainly used for recuperating the depleted yang to rescue the patient from collapse and for invigorating yang to restore yin. 2) Resuscitating the patient by regulating qi and the blood and dredging the channels to activate the circulation. After a successful resuscitation, the patient should be radically treated with appropriate herbal medicines so as to consolidate the therapeutic efficacy. 3. An emergency treatment for syncopal patients with acupuncture and moxibustion must be based on a conscientious differentiation of the signs and symptoms. The treatment should strictly follow the therapeutic principles: reinforce for the deficiency, reduce for the excess, cool the heat and warm the cold.