Heart Disease
Hawthorn and heart disease. Hawthorn has been used for heart health for many centuries, Hawthorn has been used for its medicinal properties. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States.
Hawthorn and Heart Disease Benefits
There have been a plethora of trials using hawthorn and benefits for heart disease. In elderly populations, the use of herbs is increasing. It is estimated that 33% of the elderly population uses alternative or complementary medicine.
The elderly are turning to alternative medicine to treat congestive heart failure because the side effects of these medications to treat congestive heart failure can sometimes have very bad side effects.
Hawthorn and Heart Health: Hawthorn Uses
Today, hawthorn is an official drug in the pharmacies of Brazil, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, and Switzerland.
In fact, in Germany hawthorn is on the formulary as an actual drug to treat congestive heart failure. Thousands of people throughout the world have used hawthorn with good results.
How Does Hawthorn Benefit Heart Disease
Hawthorn acts as an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect against oxidative damage. Antioxidants can help prevent or stop the damage caused by oxidants.
Oxidants are produced naturally in your body and they can be found in the environment. Antioxidants can help lower the incidence of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and certain neurological diseases.
Hawthorn also has hypotensive properties. Hawthorn Decreases high blood pressure by causing the blood vessels in the body to relax with the stimulation of nitrous oxide.
Hawthorn has been known to decrease cholesterol because it inhibits the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Hawthorn has a direct action on the heart cells which results in an increase in coronary flow, an increase in the relaxation of the heart vessels, and antiarrhythmic actions.
There have been many trials down to assess the effectiveness of Hawthorne and the benefits to the heart. The Hawthorn preparation used was WS1442.
The dosage used was 900 mg per day and the trial lasted two years. The result of this trial was that there was a reduction in the incidence of sudden death in patients that had moderately decreased left ventricular function.
Another trial was done that lasted six months, and the dosage was 450 mg taken twice a day. This study showed that the participants had A decreased need for diuretics. These Participants also had a modest reduction and systolic and that diastolic blood pressure.
In 2004, a trial was done with Hawthorn on patients with stage 2 heart failure.
The three cardinal symptoms of heart failure which include fatigue, shortness of breath on exertion, and palpitations were significantly decreased in the group that used the WS1442 Hawthorn preparation.
They also had improved exercise capacity and overall symptom reduction.
Hawthorn Berry Dosage
How much Hawthorn berry needed to lower blood pressure? In the trials, the average dose was 900 mg divided into 450 mg twice a day.
The leaves and berries were used. However, I have used other name brands. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that the preparation has berries and leaves.
Nature’s Way makes an excellent hawthorn preparation: Hawthorn (Standardized). Life Extension also makes a good preparation of Hawthorn
Hawthorn Berry Side Effects
Hawthorn has been consistently proven to be tolerated by patients with negligible side effects. There have been no signs of toxicity even when doses up to 1800 mg per day were used. Hawthorne shares the same action as Digoxin, but it does not have the side effects that digoxin has.
Drug-Herb Interactions
The only drug that is known to possibly interact with Hawthorn is digoxin and that is because it has similar actions on the body. Also since Hawthorn decreases blood pressure, people who are taking high blood pressure medication should monitor their blood pressure daily.
Also, people taking hawthorn should let their cardiologist be aware of.
I have personally used Hawthorne with very positive results. The actual preparation that was used in the trials was WS1442. This is not readily available here in the United States. However, there are many standard preparations of Hawthorne that are effective.
Conclusion
Hawthorn has been used for centuries to treat chest pain, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and elevated cholesterol. However, not all hawthorn is made equally. It is important to get the leaves and flowers of the Hawthorn shrub.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and throughout the world. Heart attacks claim 300,000 lives in the United States annually.
