心痺 简体 心痹

xīn bì

Heart obstruction

Also rendered: heart obstruction (Literal) · heart bi (Pinyin for the disease word) · cardiac impediment (Latinate and clinical)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
xīn bì
Simplified
心痹
Literal
心 the heart; 痺 obstruction. The obstruction named when the face is red and the pulse races and is hard.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:心,人心,土藏,在身之中;痹,濕病也。

In brief

The first of the chapter’s worked examples. The face is red, the pulse arrives racing and hard; the reading is accumulated qi in the centre, which hinders eating from time to time. Its cause is given as an outside illness taking hold of an emptied heart: brooding has weakened it, and so the evil follows in. Note that the colour, the pulse and the cause all belong to one reading — the chapter is showing what it meant by 能合脉色,可以萬全.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The obstruction named from a red face 名曰心痺
赤色、脉喘而堅、積氣在中
赤,脉之至也,喘而堅,診曰有積氣在中,時害於食,名曰心痺 — Suwen 10
2
A disease of an emptied heart 思慮而心虚
The cause is internal depletion meeting an outside evil
得之外疾,思慮而心虚,故邪從之 — Suwen 10

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
3 passages
素問·五藏生成 Suwen 10 · 五藏生成 Read in context →
赤,脉之至也,喘而堅,診曰有積氣在中,時害於食,名曰心痺。得之外疾,思慮而心虚,故邪從之。 赤,脉之至也,喘而坚,诊曰有积气在中,时害于食,名曰心痹。得之外疾,思虑而心虚,故邪从之。
chì, mài zhī zhì yě, chuǎn ér jiān, zhěn yuē yǒu jī qì zài zhōng, shí hài yú shí, míng yuē xīn bì. dé zhī wài jí, sī lǜ ér xīn xū, gù xié cóng zhī.
Red: the pulse arrives racing and hard. The reading is that there is accumulated qi in the centre, which from time to time hinders eating. It is called heart obstruction. It is contracted from an outside illness: brooding has emptied the heart, and so the evil follows it in.
五痺之首。本篇以「色—脉—積氣—病名—所得之由」為一式,凡五見,此其赤色一條。「喘」謂脉來急疾。
素問·痺論 Suwen 43 · 痺論 Read in context →
凡痺之客五藏者,肺痺者,煩滿喘而嘔;心痺者,脉不通,煩則心下鼓,暴上氣而喘,嗌乾善噫,厥氣上則恐;肝痺者,夜卧則驚,多飲數小便,上爲引如懷;腎痺者,善脹,凥以代踵,脊以代頭;脾痺者,四支解墯,發欬嘔汁,上爲大塞;腸痺者,數飲而出不得,中氣喘爭,時發飱泄;胞痺者,少腹膀胱,按之内痛,若沃以湯,澀於小便,上爲清涕。 凡痹之客五脏者,肺痹者,烦满喘而呕;心痹者,脉不通,烦则心下鼓,暴上气而喘,嗌干善噫,厥气上则恐;肝痹者,夜卧则惊,多饮数小便,上为引如怀;肾痹者,善胀,凥以代踵,脊以代头;脾痹者,四肢解惰,发咳呕汁,上为大塞;肠痹者,数饮而出不得,中气喘争,时发飧泄;胞痹者,少腹膀胱,按之内痛,若沃以汤,涩于小便,上为清涕。
Fán bì zhī kè wǔ zàng zhě, fèi bì zhě, fán mǎn chuǎn ér ǒu; xīn bì zhě, mài bù tōng, fán zé xīn xià gǔ, bào shàng qì ér chuǎn, yì gān shàn ài, jué qì shàng zé kǒng; gān bì zhě, yè wò zé jīng, duō yǐn shuò xiǎo biàn, shàng wéi yǐn rú huái; shèn bì zhě, shàn zhàng, jū yǐ dài zhǒng, jǐ yǐ dài tóu; pí bì zhě, sì zhī jiě duò, fā kài ǒu zhī, shàng wéi dà sè; cháng bì zhě, shuò yǐn ér chū bù dé, zhōng qì chuǎn zhēng, shí fā sūn xiè; bāo bì zhě, shào fù páng guāng, àn zhī nèi tòng, ruò wò yǐ tāng, sè yú xiǎo biàn, shàng wéi qīng tì.
For obstruction lodging in the five stores: lung obstruction is fullness and distress, panting and vomiting; heart obstruction is the vessels not passing through — distress brings a beating below the heart, sudden rising qi and panting, a dry pharynx and frequent belching, and when the counterflow qi rises, fear; liver obstruction is starting in the night, drinking much and passing water often, with a drawing upward that feels like carrying a child; kidney obstruction is a readiness to swell, the rump taking the place of the heel and the spine taking the place of the head; spleen obstruction is slackness of the four limbs, coughing and vomiting fluid, and great stoppage above; intestinal obstruction is drinking often and yet not passing it, the central qi contending with panting, and from time to time outflow diarrhea; bladder obstruction is pain within the lower abdomen and bladder when pressed, as though hot water had been poured in, rough passage of urine, and clear snivel above.
「心痺者,脉不通,煩則心下鼓,暴上氣而喘,嗌乾善噫,厥氣上則恐」——**本篇「心」4見**;「鼓」讀 gǔ,**心下鼓,謂心下搏動如鼓**;「噫」讀 ài,**《廣韻》烏界切,今讀 ài,噯氣也;《甲乙經校注》並載 yì 一說**;「嗌」讀 yì、**咽也**。**心合脉,故脉痺不已則内舍於心**。
素問·四時刺逆從論 Suwen 64 · 四時刺逆從論 Read in context →
陽明有餘,病脉痺,身時熱;不足,病心痺。 阳明有余,病脉痹,身时热;不足,病心痹。
Yáng míng yǒu yú, bìng mài bì, shēn shí rè; bù zú, bìng xīn bì.
When yang brightness is in surplus the disease is vessel obstruction and the body is hot at times; when it is insufficient, heart obstruction.
「不足,病心痺」——**陽明不足則病心痺:心主脉,脉痺不已、復感於邪則內舍於心**;**與第四十三篇《痺論》「心痺者,脉不通,煩則心下鼓」互見**;**本篇「心痺」1見**

Compounds built on this term

積氣
jī qì
accumulated qi
What the reading finds
喘而堅
chuǎn ér jiān
racing and hard
The pulse: 喘 means the beat comes quickly, not that the patient pants
時害於食
shí hài yú shí
hindering the eating
The symptom that gives the place away

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

Common Englishheart bi / heart painful obstructionFollows the standard rendering of 痺.
This siteheart obstructionKept consistent with the site's rendering of 痺 as obstruction; the alternative would describe the heart as painful, which the text does not.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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