Heart nourishment

"Heart nourishment" is a physiological concept and therapeutic principle rather than a specific molecular target, receptor, or enzyme. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the term (often referred to as Yang Xin) describes the process of replenishing "heart blood" or "heart yin" to address clinical symptoms such as palpitations, insomnia, anxiety, and mental restlessness [1, 3, 6]. In modern biomedical contexts, the phrase is used literally to describe the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the myocardium via coronary circulation, particularly during surgical procedures involving cardioplegia to protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury [2, 12, 13, 14]. Because it defines a broad functional outcome—supporting cardiac vitality and stabilizing the emotional state—it involves a multi-targeted network of biological pathways, including the modulation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway, 5-HT receptor activity, and myocardial redox homeostasis [7, 8, 10, 16]. Consequently, "heart nourishment" does not correspond to a discrete protein or gene in canonical pharmacological databases [7, 9].

Other names

Nourishing the heartYang XinMyocardial nutritionHeart-blood nourishment

As a therapeutic principle rather than a single molecule, 'heart nourishment' involves restoring myocardial blood supply, enhancing antioxidant defenses (e.g., Nrf2 activation), and modulating neurotransmitter systems (e.g., serotonin and glutamate) to stabilize cardiac and psychological function.