Intercostal Neuralgia

Interactions between antihypertensive drugs (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, etc.) and herbal medicine vary by ingredient. Representative cases requiring caution include: ① Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): Potential increase in blood pressure due to pseudoaldosteronism-like effects and reduced diuretic efficacy; ② Ephedra (Ma Huang): Increase in blood pressure due to sympathetic nervous system stimulation; ③ Potassium content in some herbal medicines: Electrolyte imbalance may occur when used in combination with diuretics. On the other hand, anti-inflammatory and blood stasis-improving medicinal herbs primarily used for intercostal neuralgia are often unrelated to such interactions. At Dongjedang, we review all medications currently being taken during the initial consultation and exclude potentially problematic herbs from the prescription or adjust their dosages. In hypertensive patients, chest pain often manifests as a state where liver energy surges excessively upward, or as a pattern where energy rushes upward due to blocked liver circulation. Therefore, prescriptions aimed at lowering liver energy to stabilize both pain and blood pressure are possible. Ideally, patients should self-monitor blood pressure changes after starting herbal medicine, and collaborative care should be established between the attending physician and the Korean medicine practitioner.