ABSTRACT
We treated five patients with palpitation at rest due to imbalance of Ki-distribution, a concept of traditional Chinese medicine in which there is abnormal upward flowing of “Ki, ” who showed rapid improvement after Shakuyaku was excluded from their original regimen or after initiation of treatment with Shakuyaku-free regimens. All these patients shared in common two findings before the initiation of the Shakuyaku-free treatment: first, the absence of strain of the rectus abdominas muscle in the whole abdomen between the hypochondrium and the upper margin of the pubic bones, and secondly, the presence of abdominal pulsation diagnosed as pericardiac, infra-umbilical or sub-umbilical pulsation. We also treated patients who developed palpitation at rest only after Shakuyaku-free regimens were replaced with regimens including Shakuyaku. These findings suggest that there may be many patients in whom Shakuyaku-free regimens may improve palpitation when they have an imbalance of Ki-distribution as an underlying condition.