Cardiac disease is a very common problem in ageing dogs, but also younger dogs can suffer from breed-related cardiac conditions (e.g. Cavalier King Charles, Boxer, Doberman Pinscher). Quite often cardiac disease is accompanied by arrhythmia and/or blood pressure disorders, which influence the quality of life and performance. As soon as the heart disease is diagnosed, acupressure treatment should be initialized to support cardiac function and thus improve the patient’s wellbeing. Remember, cardiac disease is always progressive, so it’s important to start empowering treatment ideally even before medical treatment.
This selection of points can be combined with points used to treat Qi Deficiency.
Acupressure
- HT 07 – in the groove above the carpal joint
- PC 06 – 2 cun proximal to the carpal joint between the tendons.
- ST 36 – just distal to the knee joint, on the cranial border of the leg.
- BL 14 -1,5 cun away from the dorsal midline at the level of the 4th thoracic vertebra. (between spine & shoulder blade)
- BL 15 -1,5 cun away from the dorsal midline at the level of the 5th thoracic vertebra. (between spine & shoulder blade)
Further Recommendations
- Accurate diagnosis (ideally via echocardiography) is important to stage the disease and evaluate, whether medical treatment is necessary.
- Get your vet’s advice regarding nutrition and your dog’s ideal weight.
- Learn to know your dog’s exercise threshold and don’t push towards higher performance.
- Avoid exercising in hot weather.
- Additional treatments: Pinching & lifting up the skin along the spine, starting at the pelvic area walking forward up towards the neck.
- Rotary Massage of ST 36 & SP 06 for 5 minutes 3x daily for one week.