Hawthorn For Treatmet Of Mild Cases Of Congestive Heart Failure Part 1

Conventional doctors rely on diuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and other medications to treat heart failure. However, all of these medications come with side effects.

The question is: Are there natural therapies that can treat milder cases of congestive heart failure? The answer is yes.

Hawthorn is a spiny, flowering plant in the rose family. Its extract has been used by many different cultures for more than 100 years as a tonic for the heart, including treating congestive heart failure.

Hawthorn has many positive effects for heart function, including helping ease:

• Angina

• Hypertension

• Hyperlipidemia

• Arrhythmia

• Mild to moderate congestive heart failure

A 2008 study by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews looked at 14 trials and found that hawthorn had positive physiological outcomes for patients with congestive heart failure.

Furthermore, exercise tolerance was significantly increased and shortness of breath and fatigue improved with hawthorn compared to placebo.

The Cochrane Review also found that adverse effects with hawthorn were “infrequent, mild, and transient.” The authors of the report concluded, “. . . there is a significant benefit in symptom control and physiological outcomes from hawthorn extract as an adjunctive treatment for chronic heart failure.”