Stroke, Let Chinese Medicine (TCM) Helps You!

Stroke damages brain function and muscle coordination, impairing speech, vision, and leaving many chronically disabled. Globally, stroke ranks as the second leading cause of death, with 5.5 million deaths annually.

Explore stroke prevalence in Singapore, with about 26 new cases daily and widespread impact across the resident population, highlighting urgent trends and awareness.

Explore hemorrhage stroke, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attack (TIA), focusing on ruptured vessels, blood clots, and brief brain oxygen loss in modern medicine, with TIA linked to TCM concepts.

Identify traditional stroke risk factors, including modifiable and non-modifiable factors such as age and gender, and distinguish ischemic (blockages) from hemorrhagic (increased pressure), with ischemic comprising about 80% of cases.

Discover the modifiable risk factors behind most strokes, including hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking, and excessive alcohol, and how controlling blood pressure and lifestyle reduces ischemia stroke and hemorrhage stroke risk.

From the tcm view, stroke is called Zhong Fong, stroke by wind, where wind and internal disharmony—deficiency of vital qi and yin-yang imbalance—drive ischemic or hemorrhagic events.

Distinguish stroke syndromes by meridians and organ visceral system, linking meridian strokes to ischemic stroke and organ visceral system strokes to hemorrhagic stroke, with simple acupressure for prevention and rehab.

Identify stroke syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine—deficiency with blood stasis, wind phlegm stagnation, and liver kidney deficiency—and nourish qi, promote circulation, and remove stasis.

Seek hospital care immediately during the acute stroke phase; ischemic strokes need anticoagulation, hemorrhagic strokes require repair. Relearn skills during the six-month rehabilitation with TCM and modern medicine.

Discover common Chinese herbs and foods such as ginseng, hawthorn, chuanxiong, ligusticum, and gastrodia that can be used for stroke support and daily health, with dosage guidance.

Explore how Chinese ginseng strengthens yuan and restores vitality after stroke by supporting the lung and spleen meridians, while calming the mind and managing palpitations.

Explore how astragalus (huang qi) strengthens qi and immunity after stroke, using daily water infusion for two months and ten-gram or 2–5-stick doses, including astragalus rice.

Discover how Angelica heals in stroke care by strengthening and nourishing the blood, warming the body, and moistening the intestine, and practice a home recipe called Angelica rice.

Explore how cinnamon, a pungent herb, induces perspiration and strengthens and promotes yang qi of the heart to help circulation in stroked patients.

Activate the blood and improve circulation with Tansen to help regulate menstruation, relieve pain, and calm irritability, and learn a simple formula using this herb.

Explore hawthorn as an herbal option for stroked patients, focusing on digestion, removing stagnation, and cleansing lipids in early stage high cholesterol.

Explore ChuanXiong's role in nourishing blood and mobilizing qi to relieve headaches, including migraines after menses linked to blood deficiency in the gallbladder region.

Learn to prepare a mild Danshen hawthorn tea with licorice water to support circulation, lower cholesterol, and cleanse blood lipids, recommended every other day as a preventive approach.

Prepare Astragalus cinnamon porridge with ginger, red dates, and rice, with optional meat substitutions, to nourish qi, blood, and circulation.

Explore orange peel hawthorn porridge and its tea, which nourish the spleen and clear phlegm, and note its use for those with high blood lipid, plus gastrodia fish head soup.

A traditional fish head formula in Chinese medicine uses Gastrodia elata, ma chuan xiong, poria, and ginger to address headaches after stroke and clear wind.

Learn acupressure points for stroke management, including GV 20 and the 100 convergence concept, and understand meridian naming, acupuncture, and acupressure as WHO-endorsed modalities.

Discover how acupressure point GV20 at the vertex of the head, along the midline, can alleviate headache, dizziness, hypertension, and organ prolapse.

Press the renzong acupressure point at the junction of the upper and middle philtrum to alert the mind during fainting or sudden loss of consciousness.

Apply pressure to Gb20 at base of skull near the neck, lateral to the trapezius tendon, to relieve headaches, neck pain, stroke, and fever; sensations may travel to the legs.

Identify Tai Chong Lv3, the third point on the liver meridian, at the depression between the first and second metatarsals. Press with the heel; pain signals stress or depression.

Explore motor, sensory, speech and hearing zones in the brain and how left-hemisphere injury affects speech, while learning why protecting these mobility areas is crucial.

Explore how controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar, cutting vices, and eating warm, cooked foods that align with your constitution reduces ischemic stroke risk and emphasizes prevention.