Congestive heart failure is a condition in which your heart struggles to pump enough blood, and it is commonly associated with a heart muscle that has become too rigid or weak to perform its usual tasks. The National Health Service of the United Kingdom states that breathlessness, severe fatigue and lower extremity swelling are the most common symptoms of this condition. Many natural treatments -- including herbal and non-herbal supplements -- may be helpful in treating your heart failure. However, always discuss herbal treatment options with your doctor first.
About Congestive Heart Failure
There are many possible causes of congestive heart failure, including long-term hypertension, heart attacks, diabetes, consuming too much alcohol and viral heart infections. Certain risk factors, many of which you cannot change, may increase your likelihood of developing this condition, including abnormalities in your heart rhythm, myocarditis, damaged heart valves and congenital heart defects. Some of the most effective ways to prevent this condition include quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy blood pressure and staying physically active.
Natural Treatments
There are several herbal and non-herbal treatments that have traditionally been used in treating congestive heart failure, although more scientific testing may be required to validate the effectiveness of these supplements. Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., a naturopathic doctor and author of "The Clinician's Handbook of Natural Medicine," states that magnesium, thiamin, carnitine, coenzyme Q10, arginine, hawthorn and Terminalia arjuna -- an herbal supplement commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine -- may be helpful in treating congestive heart failure.
Highlighted Supplement
Carnitine, states the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements, is a substance that is derived from amino acids and is found in almost all cells in your body. Pizzorno states that carnitine is essential for the transport of fatty acids into myocardial mitochondria for ATP production and that heart ischemia, or a lack of blood flow to your heart, quickly reduces your carnitine levels. Carnitine boosts your oxygen uptake and improves your stress tolerance.
Warning
Congestive heart failure is a serious problem that can lead to three dangerous health complications if it is left untreated: irregular heart rhythms, pulmonary edema and total heart failure. Should you develop the characteristic signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure, report to your doctor or cardiac specialist to be properly diagnosed and treated. Avoid using herbal and other natural treatments for this condition until you have reviewed natural medicines with your health care practitioner.
References
- National Health Service: Heart Failure
- FamilyDoctor.org: Congestive Heart Failure
- "The Clinician's Handbook of Natural Medicine"; Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., N.D.; 2002
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Carnitine
