Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott

January 2, 2025

Heart and Kidney Yang Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms, and Remedies

Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency often originates with a decline in Kidney Yang. But how does this happen?

Causes of Kidney Yang Deficiency

Exposure to Cold
Repeated or prolonged exposure to cold is a common trigger. For instance, during adolescence, you may not have dressed warmly enough—perhaps due to fashion or peer pressure. At that age, your body is resilient and recovers quickly. However, persistent cold exposure can deplete your body’s reserves, what Chinese medicine calls Jing-essence.Over time, this depletion leaves you with less Jing-essence to cope with life’s challenges—be it illness, stress, or physical demands.
Lack of Rest
Life may then throw other challenges your way. Perhaps you start a family and discover how sleep-deprived new parenthood can leave you. Sleep is crucial for replenishing energy, and prolonged deprivation weakens your body’s resilience.
Stress and Responsibility
Climbing the career ladder or taking on new responsibilities is exciting but also stressful. Work pressures, managing people, and performance anxiety drain your reserves further.
Overtraining or Overexertion
Deciding to get fit can help but overdoing it often backfires. Pushing yourself too hard at the gym, especially to build muscle or impress others, can exceed your body’s ability to recover. When you’re tired or aching even after several days of rest, you’ve likely surpassed your “easy recovery point.”
Even professional athletes struggle with this, despite their superior genetics. For most people, the consequences arrive sooner: fatigue, cold intolerance, and diminished performance.

exhaustion after over-exertion and cold leads to Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency — Tired? Exhausted!

Progression to Heart Yang Deficiency

When Kidney Yang deficiency persists, it can eventually affect Heart Yang. Your body prioritizes protecting the heart, so symptoms here often take longer to manifest. Signs of Heart Yang deficiency might include:

Slower heart rate
Feeling cold, especially in extremities
Longer warm-up times during exercise
Difficulty breaking a sweat, even with effort

Effort but inability to perspire, suggests Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency — Pushing hard but just not getting warm.

Other Symptoms of Kidney Yang Deficiency

Kidney Yang deficiency doesn’t only affect circulation and warmth. Additional signs include:

Back pain or weakness
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
Memory issues or forgetfulness
Reduced willpower or motivation
Frequent urination
Various forms of Blood deficiency
Diminished reproductive function (irregular periods, low libido, or fertility challenges)

For men, this may lead to difficulty achieving or maintaining erections.

Female Elite Athlete Infertility Research

For women with Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency libido may decline, and menstrual cycles might become irregular – or cease – a real problem for women athletes training hard at the same time as trying to conceive.

This kind of female infertility is currently under some scrutiny.

The British athlete Dame Laura Kenny guest-edited BBC Radio 4 Today programme on 31 December 2024 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0kbsg83). She described her own difficulties conceiving while training.

I listened in some disbelief when they reported little current scientific understanding of the problem. Chinese medicine has a good understanding of it – see our page on Liver Blood.

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Self-Help for Heart and Kidney Yang Deficiency

Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to support your recovery:

Balance Physical Activity
Reduce excessive exercise, but don’t stop entirely. Gentle, regular activities like walking or cycling can improve circulation and boost energy.
Stay Warm
Protect yourself from cold by wearing appropriate clothing. Avoid cold foods (raw or refrigerated); opt for warm, nourishing meals instead.
Use Heat Therapy
Regular warm baths, saunas, or heat packs can help. Even in winter, sunlight exposure—though not always warm—has restorative effects.
Seek Positive Company
Surround yourself with uplifting, warm-hearted people. Laughter and lighthearted interactions can be surprisingly healing.
Consider Acupuncture and Herbs
Acupuncture, especially with moxibustion (the use of heat), and Chinese herbal medicine help to restore balance.
Gentle Massage
Light, stimulating massage is beneficial, but avoid deep, heavy pressure, which can further strain your energy.
Prioritize Rest
Ensure plenty of rest in a warm, quiet space to allow your body to recover.
Please realise, if you have Heart and Kidney yang deficiency, your heart-beat may be slow or irregular and you may be breathless, symptoms which will alert your doctor to suggest medication. Even with good treatment from Chinese medicine including nutrition, exercise, rest, warmth, acupuncture and herbs, you almost certainly won’t get better very quickly. But you can improve gradually.

Further Resources

For detailed guidance, read about specific symptoms and treatments for Kidney Yang deficiency and Heart Yang deficiency. Both conditions are manageable with the right care and lifestyle changes, so seek help if you notice symptoms. Also, if you are training hard, consider the implications of Liver Blood deficiency.