Irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, occurs when there is a problem in the heart’s electrical signal conduction system. Certain drugs such as caffeine may also lead to the condition. The common symptoms include chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath and palpitations. Your doctor may prescribe medications or surgery to treat the condition based on the severity of your condition. Certain supplements and natural foods such as grape juice may help prevent irregular heartbeat. However, you must talk to a doctor before using them.
Grape Juice
Grapes, or Vitis vinifera, are woody, climbing vines with black, green, red, purple or white fruits that grow in bunches. Grape juice is extracted from the ripened fruits, filtered to remove stems and seeds and pasteurized. The anthocyanins, flavonoids and polyphenols such as resveratrol found in grape juice give it immense medicinal value. In fact, grape juice has been used to treat heart disease, viral and bacterial infections, and certain types of cancers. There are no clinical trials to recommend the exact dosage of grape juice that can be used to treat different conditions. Your doctor may help establish a regimen that is right for you.
Arrhythmia
Resveratrol found in grape juice may help reduce the duration of arrhythmia, and prevent the potentially life-threatening ventricular tachycardia, which is rapid heartbeat that starts in the ventricles of the heart, according to a study in the February 2006 issue of the journal “Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.” Another study in the December 2005 issue of the journal “Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation” suggests that polyphenols found in red grapes can improve the dilation of blood vessels by improving the functioning of the endothelial cells that layer the inner side of the blood vessels. This may, in turn, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases including arrhythmia. A November 2008 study in the journal “Nutrition Research” reaffirms that grape polyphenols exert significant cardioprotective effect and lower the risk of conditions such as atherosclerosis and arrhythmia.
Side Effects
Grape juice is generally considered safe, although no major studies have been conducted to identify the its adverse reactions and drug interactions. Resveratrol, however, is also available as supplements. These products may exhibit estrogen-like properties and increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Resveratrol supplements may interfere with certain antiplatelet medications as well.
Precautions
Although grape juice and grape polyphenol supplements are readily available, you must talk to a doctor before using them to manage arrhythmia. Also, the Food and Drug Administration does not monitor the supplements sold in the United States. Hence, make sure that they have been tested for safety and efficacy by an independent testing agency such as the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention.
References
- "Biochemistry and Biophysical Research Communications"; Resveratrol, A Natural Ingredient of Grape Skin: Antiarrhythmic Efficacy and Ionic Mechanisms; Y. Zhang, et al.; February 2006
- "European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation"; Polyphenols Compounds from Red Grapes Acutely Improve Endothelial Function in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease; John Lekakis, et al.; December 2005
- "Nutrition Research"; Cardioprotective Actions of Grape Polyphenols; Wayne R. Leifert, et al.; November 2008
- Drugs.com: Grape Juice, Purple
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Resveratrol
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