**Phosphorus affects rather the right heart producing a venous stagnation, and it is exceedingly useful in fatty degeneration of this organ.
**Vanadium 6X, said Dr. A. L. Blackwood, is of service in strengthening the heart’s action when there is present fatty degeneration of the liver and heart, with degeneration of the arterial walls. It will be found of special benefit in those cases where anaemia, chronic rheumatism, diabetes, neurasthenia or tuberculosis is the exciting cause. It increases the appetite and strengthens the digestive function.
**Arsenicum rather affects the left heart, has more oppression of the chest in breathing, more orthopnoea and more anasarca. The patient cannot lie down or go upstairs.
Two other remedies useful in fatty degeneration of the heart are **Cuprum aceticum and Phytolacca decandra.
Collinsonia. [Coll]
In functional disorders of the heart, **Collinsonia is an excellent remedy, especially when they are reflex from haemorrhoidal troubles or alternate with them. Although the provings do not indicate a specific action on the heart, it has been found useful where there is much cardiac irritability, traceable to suppressed haemorrhoidal bleeding, the cardiac nerves seem irritated, and there is great sensitiveness about the heart, fullness and oppression about the chest, with difficult breathing and faintness. It cured for the writer a case of severe constrictive pain about the heart in a man who habitually passed blood with his stools; upon the disappearance of the blood from the stools the heart symptoms commenced and when the flow of blood became re-established the heart symptoms disappeared. **Collinsonia entirely cured both conditions. A characterizing indications is a persistent, rapid, but weak pulse; the action is excessive, but the force is deficient. Hale thinks **Collinsonia acts on the heart by removing obstruction or irritations in the liver, portal system, or kidneys, and by increasing muscular tonicity.
Strychnia. [Stry]
This is a pure and simple heart stimulant. Its only legitimate field is when paralysis threatens and during the course of any affection, you have dyspnoea, blueness of the finger tips and lips, sour eructations and symptoms of disturbed digestion. Here 1/64 of a grain hypodermically may bridge the chasm. Its frequent and injudicious use is more than harmful and leads to an increased mortality in many affections.
**Caffeine is another powerful heart energizer, but is not a curative remedy.
Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Michigan Homeopathic Medical College. Member of American Institute of Homeopathy. In addition to his editoral work he authored or collaborated on: Boericke and Dewey's Twelve Tissue Remedies, Essentials of Homeopathic Materia Medica, Essentials of Homeopathic Therapeutics and Practical Homeopathic Therapeutics.