Asthenia syndrome of heart and spleen refers to the symptoms of malnutrition of the heart, dysfunction of the spleen and weakness of the spleen in controlling blood. This syndrome is usually caused by improper regulation in prolonged disease, or by excessive contemplation, or by intemperance of food and impairment of the spleen and stomach, or by acute and chronic hemorrhage leading to deficiency of heart and spleen qi and blood.
 
Clinical manifestations:
Sallow complexion, lassitude, palpitation, insomnia and dreaminess, dizziness and amnesia, poor appetite, abdominal distension and loose stool, hematemesis, hematochezia, or subcutaneous hemorrhage, or scanty and light-colored menstruation and dripping menstruation, light-colored and tender tongue as well as thin and weak pulse. These symptoms are usually seen in arrhythmia, cardiac neurosis, chronic gastritis, digestive ulcer, hemorrhage from upper digestive tract, malabsorption syndrome, iron-deficiency anemia, aplastic anemia, purpura, leukopenia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
 
Analysis of the symptoms:
Insomnia and dreaminess are caused by insufficiency of heart blood, malnutrition of the heart and irritability; dizziness and amnesia are caused by insufficiency of heart blood; poor appetite, abdominal distension and loose stool are caused by spleen asthenia, qi deficiency and dysfunction of transformation; hematemesis, hematochezia, or subcutaneous hemorrhage, or dripping menstruation are caused by failure of the spleen to control blood due to asthenia; sallow complexion, lassitude, light-colored and tender tongue as well as thin and weak pulse are the signs of qi and blood consumption.
 
Key point for syndrome differentiation:
This syndrome is marked by palpitation, insomnia, abdominal distension, loose stool and manifestations of asthenia of both qi and blood.