Natural Help for Heart Disease

By Jacob Teitelbaum, MD

Four-part recipe to a healthy heart.

Photo by 4sportspros.com

Although the prevalence of congestive heart failure is skyrocketing, medical treatments are only modestly effective. The good news is that natural therapies can safely and dramatically improve heart muscle efficiency and function. Because of this, these treatments can also help those with angina, abnormal heart rhythms, and heart valve problems. One gentleman was too sick to even be on the heart transplant list. After these treatments, he is happily out riding his motorcycle—too healthy to need a heart transplant! Here is a simple four step recipe that can give you your life and function back.

There are several key types of heart problems. The major ones are: 

1. Angina and heart attacks. 
2. Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) caused by heart muscle weakness and manifesting as ankle swelling and shortness of breath on laying flat or exertion. Many researchers suspect a component of this is also occurring in CFS and Fibromyalgia. 
3. Heart valve problems. 
4. Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). 

For all 4 of these problems, but especially #2, both research and clinical experience have shown that several key natural treatments can improve heart muscle efficiency and improve symptoms. Unfortunately, most physicians are not aware of these studies because natural remedies are inexpensive and often cannot be patented. But you can use these treatments safely to feel much better in 6 weeks!

The heart is the hardest working muscle in the body. With heart failure, the muscle is weakening. With angina, there may not be heart muscle weakness, but increasing heart efficiency can decrease its work and therefore the tendency to chest pain and abnormal heart rhythms as well. Fortunately there are many natural ways to improve heart muscle function.

The key treatments for these heart problems that I use in my practice, including for abnormal heart rhythms and angina, but especially for congestive heart failure, are (in combination):

Ribose (Corvalen brand)

This powder that looks and tastes like sugar is a key to energy production in the body—including the heart. I recommend 1 scoop (5 gms) 3 times a day for 6 weeks, then twice a day. This nutrient is outstanding for heart disease and is the most important one. You will likely be amazed after 6 weeks on it! In our recently published study using ribose in the treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, where it increased energy an average of 45%, one of the study participants had atrial fibrillation. As is commonly seen in practice, his abnormal heart rhythm clear up after only three weeks on the ribose and he was able to come off his heart medications. 

Coenzyme Q10 

Take 200-400 mg/day (I would do 400 mg/day for 6 weeks, then 200 mg/day). This nutrient is especially critical for anyone on cholesterol lowering medications, even if there is no heart problem, as these medications cause Coenzyme Q10 deficiency, and this nutrient is critical for energy production. In fact, many physicians suspect that a major cause for the increasing epidemic of heart failure is that people have been on these cholesterol lowering medications. 

Magnesium 200 mg/day and B Complex 50+ mg/day

I would get this plus over 40 other key nutrients easily by taking the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder and B Complex. Take 1 scoop a day, but if it causes gas or loose stools, you can decrease the powder to 1/2 scoop a day. I recommend that people take the dose that feels the best up to 1 scoop a day. This product is outstanding for overall well being. 

I would consider adding an extra 200 mg of Magnesium at bedtime (caution—in the rare patient with kidney failure, magnesium and many other nutrients should only be taken under a licensed Holistic Health practitioner's supervision. Magnesium can also cause loose stools). 

Magnesium not only increases your heart muscles strength, but also markedly decreases the tendency to abnormal heart rhythms. I recommend almost everyone be on this powder, as it is made to supply outstanding overall nutritional support. After several months on the powder, as you "fill your tank" nutritionally, you may find that a lower dose (1/2 to ¾ scoop a day) of the powder feels best. 

Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)
500 mg 2x day for 6 weeks, then 500 mg/day is enough (and it can often simply be stopped).

Give these nutrients 6 weeks to see the optimal effects. The benefits for heart health are often dramatic! The products are readily available in most health food stores and online.

Note:

Ribose is an organic compound with the formula C₅H₁₀O₅; specifically, a monosaccharide (simple sugar) with linear form H−(C=O)−(CHOH)₄−H, which has all the hydroxyl groups on the same side in the Fischer  projection. ( For more information, see : Ribose ) 

Coenzyme Q₁₀, also known as ubiquinone, ubidecarenone, coenzyme Q, and abbreviated at times to CoQ₁₀ /ˌkoʊ ˌkjuː ˈtɛn/, CoQ, or Q₁₀ is a 1,4-benzoquinone, where Q refers to the quinone chemical group, and 10 refers to the number of isoprenyl chemical subunits in its tail. This oil-soluble, vitamin-like substance is present in most eukaryotic cells, primarily in the mitochondria.  (For more information, see : Coenzyme Q_{10 )}  

Acetyl-L-Carnitine  is an acetylated derivative of L-carnitine. During strenuous exercise, a large portion of L-carnitine and unused acetyl-CoA are converted to ALCAR and CoA inside mitochondria by carnitine O-acetyltransferase.  It is a dietary supplement and naturally occurs in plants and animals. (For more information, see : Acetyl-L-Carnitine ) 

Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., is medical director of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers, a national group of clinics. He is senior author of "Effective Treatment of CFS and FMS: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study" (Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 2001:8(2):3-24) and "The Use of D-Ribose in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study" (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2006:12(9):857-862. Dr. Teitelbaum is also the author of From Fatigued to Fantastic! (Avery/Penguin Group, 3rd revised edition 2007), Pain Free 1-2-3 (McGraw-Hill), and Three Steps to Happiness! Healing Through Joy (Deva Press). Dr. Teitelbaum knows CFS/Fibromyalgia as an insider. He contracted Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when he was in medical school and had to drop out for a year to recover. In the ensuing 30 years, he has dedicated his career to finding effective treatment. His web site endfatigue.com contains a sophisticated free computer program for analyzing symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, which can create a complete medical record of a patient's case to help patients and physicians determine the best course of treatment to get well.

Source:

http://www.psychologytoday.com
en.wikipedia.org

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