Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, shortness of breath on exertion, tiredness, spontaneous sweating, a slight feeling of stuffiness or discomfort in the heart region, feeling of cold, cold hands, bright-pale face, slightly dark lips.

Treatment

Principle: tonify and warm Heart-Yang

Combination Points (and notes)

• Same six points as Heart-Qi deficiency — the pattern escalates by adding moxa throughout, which is what turns Qi-tonification into Yang-warming.
• Ren-6 with moxa is the point to lean on when Heart-Yang deficiency traces back to a underlying Kidney-Yang deficiency, since it tonifies Yang body-wide rather than just locally.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, shortness of breath, weak and shallow breathing, profuse sweating, cold limbs, cyanosis of lips, greyish-white complexion, in severe cases coma.

Treatment

Principle: rescue Yang, restore consciousness, stop sweating

Combination Points (and notes)

• All points reinforced, needles not retained, and moxa is mandatory throughout — this is a rescue protocol, not a routine tonification.
• Stopping the sweating is not incidental: profuse sweating loses Defensive Qi (further Yang loss) and, through the Fluids–Blood interchange, causes Blood deficiency that further weakens the Heart — a vicious cycle the point selection is designed to break.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, dizziness, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, poor memory, anxiety, propensity to be startled, dull-pale complexion, pale lips.

Treatment

Principle: nourish Blood, tonify the Heart, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• The same three-point Blood-nourishing base (Ren-4, BL-17, BL-20) recurs across every Blood-deficiency pattern, whichever organ is named — it treats Blood production at its Spleen source rather than the named organ directly.
• A tongue that is Pale but orangey specifically on the sides points to a longstanding Liver-Blood component alongside the Heart-Blood deficiency — worth checking for even when the presenting complaint is purely cardiac.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, propensity to be startled, poor memory, anxiety, mental restlessness, 'uneasiness', 'fidgetiness', dry mouth and throat, night sweating. With pronounced Empty-Heat: malar flush, feeling of heat especially in the evening, five-palm heat.

Treatment

Principle: nourish Heart-Yin, calm the Mind (clear Empty-Heat if pronounced)

Combination Points (and notes)

• HE-6 + KI-7 is the dedicated pair for night sweating specifically — worth calling out separately from the general Yin-nourishing/Mind-calming point set.
• All points reinforced with no moxa — moxa would directly aggravate the Empty-Heat that often accompanies this pattern.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, thirst, mouth and tongue ulcers, mental restlessness, feeling agitated, feeling of heat, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, red face, dark urine or blood in urine, bitter taste (after a bad night's sleep).

Treatment

Principle: clear the Heart, drain Fire, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• SP-6 and KI-6 stand out here as the only reinforced points in an otherwise reducing protocol — they're used to promote Yin and cool Fire on the principle that nourishing Yin counterbalances Fire, not because Yin deficiency is actually present.
• No moxa anywhere — this is a pure Full-Heat pattern with nothing to warm.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, thirst, red face, bitter taste, a feeling of oppression of the chest, expectoration of phlegm, rattling sound in the throat, mental restlessness, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, agitation, incoherent speech, mental confusion, rash behaviour, tendency to hit or scold people, uncontrolled laughter and crying, shouting, muttering to oneself, mental depression and dullness, manic behaviour.

Treatment

Principle: clear the Heart, drain Fire, resolve Phlegm, calm the Mind, open the Mind's orifices

Combination Points (and notes)

• Ren-12 and BL-20 are the only two reinforced points in this long list — both tonify the Spleen to cut off Phlegm production at its source, while everything else reduces to drain the Fire and clear the orifices it's obstructing.
• An ancient 13-point 'Ghost points' sequence (attributed to Sun Si Miao) treats manic behaviour specifically — needled one by one, unilaterally, without retention, with reducing method; a historical protocol worth knowing exists even though it isn't the primary treatment given here.

Clinical Presentation

Mental confusion, unconsciousness, lethargic stupor, incoherent speech, slurred speech, aphasia, vomiting of phlegm, rattling sound in the throat, mental depression, very dull eyes.

Treatment

Principle: open the Heart, resolve Phlegm, open the Mind's orifices

Combination Points (and notes)

• Same pattern as Phlegm-Fire harassing the Heart: Ren-12 and BL-20 are the only reinforced points, cutting off Phlegm at its Spleen source while the rest of the protocol clears the Heart and restores consciousness.
• BL-15 deserves particular attention in paediatric practice for clearing Phlegm from the Heart in children to stimulate intellectual development and speech.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, a feeling of distension or oppression of the chest, depression, a slight feeling of a lump in the throat, slight shortness of breath, sighing, poor appetite, slight nausea, cold limbs, slightly purple lips, pale complexion.

Treatment

Principle: move Heart-Qi, open the chest, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• ST-40's inclusion is a good teaching point in itself: the same point can serve two entirely different purposes (moving chest Qi here, versus resolving Phlegm in the Phlegm patterns) depending on the pattern it's combined with.
• All points reduced — this is a pure Qi-stagnation pattern with no Deficiency component to tonify.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, shortness of breath with inability to lie down, depression, mental restlessness, a feeling of oppression of the chest, stabbing or pricking pain in the chest.

Treatment

Principle: move Heart-Qi and Heart-Blood, eliminate stasis, open the chest, resolve Phlegm, expel Cold, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• Ren-12 is the single reinforced point in this list — everything else moves Qi, moves Blood or resolves Phlegm, but the Spleen still needs tonifying so it stops generating more Phlegm.
• This pattern sits between pure Excess and pure Deficiency — treat the obstruction (Qi/Blood/Phlegm) while still supporting the Spleen underneath it.

Clinical Presentation

Palpitations, stabbing or pricking pain in the chest which may radiate to the inner aspect of the left arm or to the shoulder, a feeling of oppression or constriction of the chest, cyanosis of lips and nails, cold hands.

Treatment

Principle: move Blood, eliminate stasis, tonify and warm Heart-Yang, calm the Mind

Combination Points (and notes)

• Method is reducing during an acute attack but even method between attacks — the same point set, applied with different technique depending on whether the patient is symptomatic right now.
• Moxa is added only when Heart-Yang deficiency underlies the stasis — a reminder that this is a Deficiency-Excess pattern where the Blood stasis (Excess) typically derives from Heart-Yang deficiency (Empty) at its root.