General laws of heart treatment

Regarding heart medications, we have a separate article; if a person combines knowledge of the art of medicine with knowledge of fundamentals more general than the art of medicine, he will benefit from it. Here we will only point out what should be said in purely medical books. Namely: since the heart is the dominant organ, the first of all the dominant organs and the most important of them, then the determination to use its medicines must be a determination based on great prudence, regardless of whether we want to remove bad juice or change the nature of the heart; As for emptying by bloodletting, we undertake it with a determination that does not force us to add other cleansing measures to bloodletting. No, the greatest thing we must do here is not to go beyond the limit so that the patient’s strength does not fall, and to revive the forces, if they have weakened a little, with means that revive the forces when they have fallen due to the coldness or warmth of the nature of the heart. This applies not only to the removal of blood, but to all types of emptying, although when removing blood such caution is more necessary. The reason that eliminates the need to use it along with bloodletting, although it is not a medicine that enters the heart, and the heart is filled only with blood and steam, yet bloodletting simultaneously eliminates the harmfulness of both. When the heart is full of blood, blood is released from the right basil, and when it is overflowing with steam, blood is released from the left basil.

As for all types of emptying with the help of drugs, we must combine other measures with the measures mentioned. The fact is that most bowel movements work against the health of the body. Therefore, they should be accompanied by heart medicines, that is, medicines that give strength to the heart due to their properties, so that the medicine used to remove bad juice from the heart should be mixed with medicines suitable for the heart, having the qualities of teriyak and badzahr. Many of these drugs, and even most of them, are sometimes beneficial in another way, namely, they also carry emptying drugs to the heart, diverting them from other organs.

As for changing the nature of the heart, measures are aimed either at changing the cold, or at changing the hot, or at changing the wet, or at changing the dry nature. When we want to change the cold nature, we dare to do this by using general hot medicines mixed with hot heart medicines, and making sure that they do not cause too sharp movement of juice in the heart and the body of the heart is not stretched by the winds, from the matter that causes tumor, or from something else. If we want to change our hot nature, then we do not dare limit ourselves to cooling medicines. After all, the substance for which the heart was created, namely the pneuma pouring into it, is a hot substance, and its heat is innate, different from the heat that harms the body. It happens that pneuma, due to a disorder of the nature of the heart, when the nature is too hot, decreases in quantity and dissipates or becomes smoky and cloudy. And so, when something that extinguishes heat enters the body of the heart and is not mixed with hot medicines, the purpose of which is to intensify the natural heat with their warmth or, rather, with a special property accompanying their warmth, it can damage the root, that is, the pneuma, although it will bring the benefit of the branch, that is, the body of the heart. There is no benefit in moderating the body heat of the heart if this destroys the heat of the pneuma. Therefore you see that the ancient scientists, in treating the hot disorder of the nature and what happens from it, invariably mixed cold medicines with the hot heart remedies, confident that the nature, if it is strong, will separate the cooling medicines from the hot ones and carry the cooling medicines to the heart, and hot heart remedies to pneuma, so that the warmth of the heart will become moderate, and the warmth of pneuma will increase. If ancient scientists found a balanced or close to balanced medicine that helps strengthen the pneuma by its properties, such as, for example, oxweed, they intensively resorted to its help; however, if the nature is weak, no measures will help.

And sometimes these scientists were forced to use hot heart medicines, because they knew that the substance of most cold heart medicines is heavy and they do not penetrate into the organs well, because by nature they are more inclined to remain in place than to penetrate deep; this forced the ancient scientists to add to them well-penetrating hot heart remedies to help nature drive cold medicines to the heart. So, for example, they mixed saffron with all the compositions of camphor cakes, for saffron conducts all these compositions to the heart, and then it belongs to the natural force to divert it from the heart so that it acts on the pneuma, and not on the heart, and to resort to the help of cooling agents for the sake of balancing the nature of the heart. This is more beneficial for her than using cooling drugs in their pure form, which stop at the beginning of the path and refuse to go further. And people who do not put saffron in camphor cakes and refute the ancients, without knowing it themselves, make camphor cakes of little use. Then, the hot nature is treated by giving fruit juice boiled until thick to drink, especially the juice of the Syrian apple and quince, these are excellent medicines, as well as similar remedies, which we will soon mention, and using ointments and medicinal dressings from quenching medicines mixed with heart strengthening agents. If matter is the cause, it is brought out.

As for the treatment of a cold disorder of nature, it is treated with any strong medicinal porridge from those that we will mention later, fragrant wine, moderate physical exercise, as well as hot, fragrant heart medicinal dressings and ointments and hot food in such quantities as can be digested. If matter is the cause, it is brought out. When treating a dry nature disorder, you need to take a lot of moisturizing food and after that go to the bathhouse, use baths carefully, move a little, stay calm, drink cold water. When there is a cold nature of the heart, then cold water is avoided if it is very cold, the amount of medicine and drink is moderated, and the patient is forced to sleep a lot after a hot meal. If matter is the cause, it is taken out. You will soon learn the details of this when we talk about treating tabes and losing weight. When treating wet nature, light food is given, drying medications are prescribed, and moderate physical exercises are performed frequently and for a long time. If matter is the cause, it is brought out. Wet nature is also treated with frequent physical exercise, bathing in a bath before meals, hot springs, repeated immersion in hot water, the use of laxatives and diuretics, as well as the intake of fragrant wine, strong and not very fragrant, and foods that give praiseworthy chyme in small quantities. If there is a fever, then they avoid baths, but do not neglect copulation. And if the cause is matter, wet or hot, it is removed.

Heart medications. As for cardiac drugs in their entirety, they should be selected in the headings of simple drugs from the heading “Respiratory Organs”. And regarding what is needed now, we will mention those of them that are, as it were, the top and the root, and say: medicines close to balance are yakhont, sabanjazak, turquoise, gold, silver and cowwort. Hot medicines include, for example, scorpio lilac, citvar root, musk, amber, wild ginger, silk and saffron. Both types of bachman help quickly, and cloves are a very wonderful remedy. This also includes raw aloes, lemon balm and its seeds, as well as shakhisfaram and its seeds, mountain basil and its seeds, cardamom, cubeba, hairy basil and its seeds, citron leaves and Indian sadaj. Elecampane is also a wonderful medicine.

Cold medicines include pearls, amber, coral, camphor, sandalwood, rose, bamboo nodules, printed clay, apples, dry and fresh coriander.