Angina and Irregular Heartbeat

The most reliable herb to help maintain your heart and blood flow is hawthorn. Herbalists around the world have used the bright red berries of this attractive tree for centuries, but scientists have recently discovered that the flowers contain equally important medicinal compounds, so most modern herbalists use both.

A popular medicine in Europe, hawthorn is an important ingredient in more than 36 pharmaceutical heart preparations in Germany alone. This is really not surprising, since German researchers have been studying it for more than 25 years, and their government approves its use to treat mild heart conditions.

European doctors often prescribe hawthorn as a tonic at the earliest warnings of heart or circulation problems, yet most North American doctors are unfamiliar with it. This is too bad, since hawthorn provides some of the same benefits as digitalis—without the harmful, accumulative side effects, such as an increased risk of irregular heartbeat and toxicity—and can often be used for mild heart conditions.

This wonderful herb increases blood flow through the heart by dilating the muscles that surround major blood vessels—something very important in the treatment of angina. Hawthorn decreases an accelerated heart rate, reduces spasms caused by angina and other heart problems and allows your heart to function effectively even when it is not receiving enough oxygen.

We can travel around the world and find other herbs to ease a troubled heart. Egyptian researchers have found that chicory slows a rapid heartbeat. Research conducted in Germany showed that compounds in the roots have a weak digitalis-like effect, but in doses that are low enough to make it safe for anyone to use. To take advantage of the benefits provided by these compounds, you can eat the roots in a dried or roasted form. Several commercial coffee substitutes contain roasted chicory, and there is also a recipe for making your own tea (see chapter 23). In France and Italy, the roots not only are prepared as a drink, but also are considered an edible vegetable.

I have occasionally seen chicory greens sold in grocery stores as Whitlood chicory or Belgian endive, but if you are interested in eating the roots as a fresh vegetable, you may have to buy the seeds from a nursery catalog and grow your own plant (or buy a full-grown plant from your local nursery). chicory is popular with gardeners because the roots of the plant can be replanted in a box in the cellar or garage at the end of the growing season, and the roots and greens can be harvested all through the winter.

In the 1980s, medical researchers examined several herbs traditionally used in China to treat heart-related problems. They learned that ginkgo and reishi, like hawthorn, improve blood flow to the heart, soothe chest pains, lessen the heart's demand for oxygen and reduce shortness of breath. Researchers have favorably compared ginkgo to metroprolol and diliazem, two drugs that are commonly used to reduce heart palpitations and lower blood pressure. According to Chinese researchers, reishi, which is actually a medicinal mushroom, steadies an irregular heartbeat. This is probably one of the reasons the Chinese call it the "mushroom of immortality" and sixteenth-century Ming dynasty texts say it "mends the heart."

The popular Chinese herb astragalus helps the heart develop a more regular rhythm. It also reduces damage to heart cells. Chinese physicians even use astragalus to destroy Coxsackievirus B, which infects the heart and causes an irregular heartbeat. This condition is becoming more of a problem in China, and astragalus is the only known treatment. Even though astragalus is a Chinese herb, it has become popular in North America—many natural food stores sell it along with their other bulk herbs.

Wu-han Medical College and other hospitals in China use a special type of ginseng (Panax notoginseng) called pseudo, or sanchi, ginseng to relieve angina spasms and pain. It is a little harder to find than regular ginseng, and equally expensive, but for many people, the price is worth it. In studies done at the college, it helped relieve symptoms in almost half of the people who took it. According to tradition, sanchi ginseng, which is similar to ginseng in its chemical makeup and effects, normalizes heart rate, blood pressure and circulation and helps to prevent fatigue and relieve stress.

All these Chinese herbs are sold in North America individually and in herbal formulas for the heart.

Another heart-healing herb that has found fame for hundreds of years—both in the East and in the West—is motherwort. Motherwort's botanical name, cardiaca, actually means "heart" in Latin. One study done in China showed that this herb slows a rapid heartbeat and generally improves the heart's activity. As a nervous system sedative, it also reduces the anxiety, stress or nervous tension that so often go along with heart problems.

While we are on the subject of stress-related heart problems, the sedative valerian is often helpful when used in addition to motherwort.

In the tropics, we find an unlikely candidate to treat various heart and circulation problems—pineapple. Herbalists and researchers look upon pineapple as more of an herb than a food. More than 400 papers, mostly from Germany, have been written on the medical uses of bromelain enzymes extracted from the pineapple stem. In a study from the early 1970s, people with angina who were given adaily dose of bromelain saw their symptoms disappear in 4 to 90 days, depending upon the seriousness of their condition. Their heart problems returned only after they stopped taking the enzyme.

You might also turn to traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine to help your heart. The efficiency of a blend called abana to reduce the frequency and severity of angina attacks and improve heart function was reported in 1990. The herbs in this formula have long been used as heart tonics and are now establishing a reputation for themselves in the United States as well.

You may see yet another interesting plant making herbal headlines in the future. This is night-blooming cerus—a cactus called "pain in the heart" by Shoshone Indians who lived in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It was once a favorite of both Eclectic and regular doctors, who made a tincture of it to treat angina, heart spasms, heart pains and shortness of breath. (Eclectic physicians were nineteenth-century doctors who used several natural treatments, including herbs.)

Heart Ease Tincture

1 teaspoon tincture of hawthorn berry

½ teaspoon each tinctures of motherwort leaves, ginkgo leaves, chicory root and reishi mushroom

Combine ingredients. Take half a dropperful a few times a day on a regular basis. Similar proportions can also be used to make a tea from these herbs. Even though astragalus is a Chinese herb, it has become so popular that many natural food stores now sell it with their other bulk herbs.