{ "slug": "heart-and-spleen-deficiency", "name": "Heart and Spleen Deficiency", "pinyin": "Xin Pi Liang Xu", "chinese": "心脾两虚", "organ": "Heart and Spleen", "nature": "deficiency", "family": "blood-deficiency", "summary": "The Spleen is too weak to make enough blood, and the Heart has too little blood to settle at night. You are tired, you worry, you sleep badly, you forget things, and anything that bleeds, from gums to a period, oozes pale and slow.", "picture": "The Spleen is the kitchen and the Heart is the lamp. When the kitchen cannot keep up, the lamp burns low. The fix is to feed the kitchen and the lamp at the same time, which is exactly what Gui Pi Tang does.", "signs": { "key": [ "Tired, especially after eating, with a poor appetite", "Hard to fall asleep, light sleep, dream-filled nights", "Worry that runs in circles, poor memory", "Palpitations when anxious", "Pale gums, pale lips, pale face, with gums that ooze a little rather than bleed red" ], "common": [ "Loose stools", "Bloating after meals", "Dizziness on standing", "Shortness of breath on effort", "Easy bruising", "Heavy or long periods that are pale, or spotting between them", "Chronic low-grade bleeding anywhere: gums, nose, under the skin", "A weak voice and a wish to lie down" ], "tongue": "Pale, possibly swollen, with a thin white coat.", "pulse": "Thin and weak." }, "causes": [ "Worry, overthinking, and mental work without rest", "Irregular meals, skipped meals, or a poor diet", "Blood loss from heavy periods, surgery, or childbirth", "A long illness", "Grief or long stress that wears the Heart down" ], "tell_apart": [ { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency", "how": "Kidney yin deficiency is warm and dry: night sweats, hot palms, a red peeled tongue. Heart and Spleen deficiency is pale and tired with a pale tongue. Both can loosen gums, but one is dry heat and the other is simple lack." }, { "slug": "spleen-qi-deficiency", "how": "Plain Spleen qi deficiency has the tiredness and loose stools without the sleep, worry, and palpitation side. Add the Heart signs and the formula shifts from Si Jun Zi Tang to Gui Pi Tang." }, { "slug": "heart-blood-deficiency", "how": "Heart blood deficiency alone has the poor sleep and palpitations with a normal appetite and firm stools. When digestion is also weak, the Spleen is part of the picture." } ], "formulas": [ { "slug": "gui-pi-tang", "role": "primary", "when": "The classic formula for this exact picture: tired, worried, sleeping badly, with pale slow bleeding.", "pinyin": "Gui Pi Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/gui-pi-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/gui-pi-tang" } }, { "slug": "ba-zhen-tang", "role": "alternative", "when": "When the main complaint is weakness and pallor rather than sleep and worry. Builds qi and blood together.", "pinyin": "Ba Zhen Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/ba-zhen-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/ba-zhen-tang" } }, { "slug": "suan-zao-ren-tang", "role": "for sleep", "when": "When sleep is the whole problem and digestion is fine. Nourishes Liver blood to calm the night.", "pinyin": "Suan Zao Ren Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/suan-zao-ren-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/suan-zao-ren-tang" } } ], "herbs": [ { "pinyin": "Huang Qi", "role": "Astragalus lifts the qi so the Spleen can hold blood in its vessels.", "herb_slug": "root-of-membranous-milkvetch", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-membranous-milkvetch", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-membranous-milkvetch" } }, { "pinyin": "Dang Gui", "role": "Builds blood and keeps it moving.", "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-angelica", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica" } }, { "pinyin": "Long Yan Rou", "role": "Longan fruit feeds Heart blood and calms the mind.", "herb_slug": "longan-aril", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/longan-aril", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/longan-aril" } }, { "pinyin": "Suan Zao Ren", "role": "Sour jujube seed settles the Heart for sleep.", "herb_slug": "spine-date-seed", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/spine-date-seed", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/spine-date-seed" } }, { "pinyin": "Yuan Zhi", "role": "Polygala clears the mind and steadies the spirit.", "herb_slug": "root-of-thinleaf-milkwort", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-thinleaf-milkwort", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-thinleaf-milkwort" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Zhu", "role": "Strengthens the Spleen so food becomes blood.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes" } }, { "pinyin": "Ren Shen", "role": "Ginseng restores the qi behind everything else.", "herb_slug": "ginseng", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/ginseng", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/ginseng" } } ], "conditions": [ "receding-gums", "insomnia", "palpitations", "uterine-bleeding", "anemia", "fatigue", "forgetfulness" ], "habits": [ "Three warm cooked meals at regular times. This pattern cannot be fixed on skipped lunches.", "Blood-building foods: red meat or liver in small amounts, eggs, dates, longan, black sesame, spinach, beets, bone broth.", "Stop working an hour before bed. Worry at night is what drains this pattern.", "Gentle walking rather than hard training. Sweat takes blood with it.", "Chew slowly and eat sitting down. The Spleen works best when it is not rushed." ], "watch": [ "Appetite and energy after meals improve within two to three weeks.", "Sleep deepens and dreams quiet down over a month.", "Pale gums and lips turn pink, and the slow oozing stops, over one to three months.", "If bloating increases, the tonic is too rich. Reduce the dose and add warm cooked food." ], "sources": [ { "title": "Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition", "note": "Heart and Spleen blood deficiency." }, { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Gui Pi Tang." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/patterns" } }