Investigating the Causes of Heart Failure based on Persian Medicine Point of View

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Nowadays, heart failure is one of the most common diseases and is the cause of death in a high percentage of the population. Despite all the progress made, researches continue for achieving a better understanding of its causes. The present study aims to evaluate the causes of heart failure from Persian medicine (PM) point of view. METHODS: In this review article, first PM books with references to causes of heart failure and weakness such as Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine) and Exir-e-azam were reviewed and compared with modern medical findings in Braunwald's Heart Disease, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine and Cecil medicine books as well as online databases including PubMed, Science direct, Scopus and Google scholar. FINDINGS: Reviewing the documentation revealed that, according to definitions and symptoms, heart failure is the equivalent of the term “heart weakness” in PM. Accordingly, results of the study demonstrated that according to PM, causes such as Sue-e-Mizaj, obstruction, tissue detachment, mental disorders, direct and indirect excessive disposal of body essential materials may underlie the heart’s inability to meet the needs of the organs. CONCLUSION: Several factors are mentioned as the cause of heart failure or heart weakness in PM, only a few of which are considered in modern medicine. However, some of these less considered theories can be used as new assumptions to prevent and control this disease

Keywords

• Heart Failure
• Persian Medicine
• Metabolic diseases
• Vascular obstruction