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Vital Signs

Regimens: An Herbal Extract Eases Symptoms of Heart Failure

 

 

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Published: February 5, 2008

 

In a review of 14 studies, researchers have found that the herbal

supplement hawthorn extract is effective in treating symptoms of

chronic heart failure.

 

Stuart Goldenberg

 

Hawthorn Extract for Treating Chronic Heart Failure (Cochrane Database

of Systematic Reviews)

 

In most of the studies, which were randomized and placebo-controlled,

extract from hawthorn leaves, fruits and flowers was used as an

adjunct to conventional treatment. The paper was published Jan. 23 in

the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

 

None of the trials reported data on mortality, so there was no

evidence that the herb extends life. But it worked significantly

better than placebos in improving exercise endurance and the strength

of heart muscle contractions.

 

Most studies reported mild or no side effects, and the authors

conclude that the extract, when used with conventional symptomatic

treatment, is beneficial.

 

Still, Dr. Max H. Pittler, the lead author and deputy director of

complementary medicine at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in

England, warned that patients should not imagine hawthorn is a

substitute for regular care. " Patients need a proper diagnosis from

their doctors, " Dr. Pittler said, " and they need to consult with their

doctors if they want to take hawthorn along with their conventional

medicine. "

 

Dr. Pittler said it makes him uncomfortable that hawthorn is available

without a prescription. " We don't really know the mechanisms by which

hawthorn works, " he said, " and it is important to caution that

patients should not self-diagnose, and then self-treat with hawthorn. "