Herbal Remedies for Arteriolar Hyalinosis

Abstract

There are some diseases that occur due to improper dietary habits and lifestyle, one such very prevalent disorder is arteriolar hyalinosis. This ailment has shown great hike in today’s era due to excess use of sedentary lifestyle and sometimes it even occurs due to normal ageing process. So this popular ailment will be the main focus of our article. So let’s start putting some rays of limelight that shows how ayurveda deals with such kinds of disorders.

Introduction

Arteriolar hyalinosis is a condition presented with thickening of the walls of arterioles by deposition of various substances over the wall of arterioles. It is a type of arteriosclerosis in which there is narrowing of the wall of arteries due to accumulation of various substances over its internal lumen leading to reduction in normal curvature of arterioles that will hamper the blood circulation leading to anoxia (absence of oxygen). Due to this there will be a decreased flow of oxygen and nutrients to the heart and it will lead to serious outcomes such as myocardial infarction (heart attack).

As per ayurveda, we can correlate this disease with “sanga type sroto dushti of rasavaha srotas”

(Charka. viman 5/8)

Rasa vaha srotas have their main seat in: haridya (heart) and dasa dhamaniya (10 important blood vessels). As arteriolar hyalinosis occurs due to the formation of pathology in the lumen of artery and in most of the cases the cause is formation of atheroma (atherosclerosis) in artery internal layer. We can say that there is formation of ‘sanga’ (sanga means- obstruction in the flow/secretion of channels/vessels) type of sroto dushti in rasa vaha srotas (obstruction in the arteries).

Etiological Factors

These are the main causes (nidan as per ayurveda) that results in formation of an ailment.

• Abhishyandi bhojan (Consumption of channel blocking diet)
• Sathulani ch guruni (Intake of bulky and heavy food articles)
• Bhuktva svaptam diva (who sleep after consuming day meal)

Other causes

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Underlying disease
• Obesity
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Rheumatic heart disease
• Heart valve disease
• Cardiomyopathy
• Amyloidosis
• Presence of viral infection
• Diabetes mellitus
• Renal diseases
• Unhealthy dietary habits
• Connective tissue disorders
• Overconsumption of a fat rich diet that includes unsaturated fatty acids in high proportion
• Genetic factors also play a major role in this

Clinical Features

It includes the signs and symptoms. A symptom means the general complaints along with which patients present in front of the physician. Signs: It means what a physician notices himself by observing the patient’s condition.

• Difficulty in breathing (dyspnoea)
• Restlessness
• Chest pain
• Fatigue and malaise
• Fainting
• Sleep disturbance
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Pallor
• Sweating
• Cold extremities of the body such as fingers and toes.
• Drowsiness
• Darkness in front of eyes
• Anorexia
• Edema (swelling)
• Polydipsia (excessive thirst)
• Bitter taste of mouth
• Stiffness in the body.
• Heaviness
• Indigestion

Diagnosis

Through physical examination of the patient by using

• Inspection: Patient will be lethargic and weak in appearance.
• Palpation:   Extremities appears cold on touch
• Excessive sweating will be there.
• Auscultation: Abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
• Past history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus
• Presence of family history.
• Electrocardiography: It records the electrical signals as it passes through different chambers of heart.
• Exercise stress test
• Echocardiogram: this test uses sound waves to produce images of the heart that tells us about the pathology present inside the right coronary artery lumen.
• Cardiac CT Scan
• Angiography

Risk factors

It includes the factors responsible for increasing the chance of developing an ailment in the body. In arteriolar hyalinosis the common risk factors are

• Hypertension
• Diabetes mellitus
• Obesity
• High blood cholesterol level
• Inactivity/lack of exercises
• Unhealthy dietary habits
• Excessive alcohol intake.
• Overuse of smoking.
• Nephritic syndrome
• Renal impairment
• Kidney failure.

Management

Preventive Measures

• Avoid consumption of processed and junk food.
• Do not smoke.
• Indulge yourself in regular exercises- perform exercise to certain extent not beyond your strength.
• Avoid severe unaccustomed exertion and harsh exercises after heavy meals or in cold weather.
• Eat a healthy diet rich with good antioxidants and other important nutrients by adding more fruits and vegetables in the diet.

Medication Therapy

• Digoxin – It helps in strengthening the pumping function of the heart as it will provide strength to cardiac muscles.
• Anticoagulants – to reduce the risk of blood clot formation
• Antiarrhythmics – helps in maintaining normal rhythm of heart

As per Ayurveda

We use two treatment modalities in arteriolar hyalinosis to sustainably manage the disease further growth. The first one is sanshodhan chikitsa (detoxification procedure) and san shaman chikitsa (alleviating treatment)

(A).Sanshodhan chikitsa (detoxification procedure)

In arteriolar hyalinosis we need to use ‘mridu sanshodhan’ (mild detoxification procedures)

• Snehana karma (oleation therapy) – Smoothing the body dosha’s by using herbal ghrit/oil.
• Mridu svedan (gentle fomentation/sudation) – fomentation is done with herbs that possess mild action.
• Mridu vaman – inducing emesis with mild potency herbs that are not very strong/harsh in action.

(b). San shaman chikitsa (alleviating treatment)

In this treatment modality we use the herbal medicines by oral route to balance   vitiated doshas within the body itself.

Classical herbal formulations mentioned in our ancient text are as follow

1. Rasa/bhasma/ pishti

• Haridyavran rasa
• Mukta pishti
• Praval pishti

Dosage: 125-250mg with lukewarm water after meal

2. Kwath

• Dashmool kwath
• Katphalaadi kwath

Dosage: 20-30ml with plain water after meals.

3. Ghrit

• Arjun ghrit
• Baladya ghrit

Dosage: 20-30 ml with warm water after meal

Along with these classical herbs, we can also use herbal formulation of planet ayurveda, as their products are made up of pure and standardized extract of herb and their products are also 100% organic and free from harmful chemicals and preservatives.

Herbal Remedies for Arteriolar Hyalinosis

Planet ayurveda is a leading herbal manufacturing unit serving people worldwide with their authentic approach of healing by using principles of ayurveda. They have various herbal formulations that will work very efficaciously in conditions like arteriolar hyalinosis, it includes:

1. Arjuna capsule

This herbal formulation contains pure and standardized extract of arjuna (Terminalia arjuna). Arjuna is known for its numerous health benefits on the cardiovascular system of our body. It possesses kashaya rasa (astringent taste) due to this it acts very well in detoxifying the blood by clearing out impurities from it. It shows great results in lowering the level of bad cholesterol, as increased accumulation of cholesterol over the lumen of arteries leads to generation of ailments like arteriolar hyalinosis.

Dosage: 2 Capsules, twice daily with plain water.

2. Total heart support

This herbal capsule is a very efficacious blend of herbs such as

• ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
• arjuna (Terminalia arjuna)
• brahmi (Bacopa monnieri)
• shankhpushpi (Convolvulus pluricaulis)

This formulation is very effective in strengthening heart muscles as herbs present in this formulation have sheet virya (cold potency) so it will have cooling effects on the nervous system of the body as well.

Dosage: 2 Capsules, twice daily with plain water.

3. Guggulipid capsule

This capsule contains a generous blend of guggul (Commiphora mukul) and resin. These two natural herbs help to regulate normal functioning of the immune system of our body as they have great anti inflammatory and antifungal properties. Along with that it also helps in clearing out the accumulation of hyaline material from the walls of arteries which is the main pathology in arteriolar hyalinosis.

Dosage: 2 capsules twice daily with plain water after meals.

4. Curcumin capsule

This herbal capsule contains pure and standardized extract of haridra (Curcuma longa). Haridra is a natural herb that aids in wound healing excellently as it possesses great antioxidant properties. It also maintains healthy functioning of the immune system by increasing the disease combating power of our body so this herbal capsule assists very efficiently in ailments like arteriolar hyalinosis.

Dosage: 1-2 capsules two times a day with plain water

5. Arborium plus

This herbal syrup contains rhododendron arboreum flower juice and sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) fruit juice. This herbal syrup helps in neutralizing harmful free radicals and improves cardiac function. It helps in fighting with cholesterol and triglycerides that are the main culprit behind the generation of arteriolar hyalinosis.

Dosage: 2 teaspoon twice daily after meals.

Conclusion

Now we can conclude that ayurvedic herbs are very effective in managing disease like arteriolar hyalinosis, as it believes in the principle of ‘nidan parivar jan chikitsa’ (avoiding the root cause of disease). In arteriolar hyalinosis, the most common cause is intake of unhealthy fats that results in rise of bad cholesterol level or sometimes it even occurs due to normal ageing process and seen quite commonly in old age people. So by using basic principles of ayurveda such as dinacharya and ritucharya, we can sustainably save ourselves from such ailments by following the ideal dietary and lifestyle regime. If you are considering going for ayurvedic treatment, opt planet ayurveda as your utmost choice. You can directly visit them at their clinic in Mohali Punjab or can send your health concern on their official email id- herbalremedies123@yahoo.com