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Congestive heart
failure (CHF) or heart failure (HF) refers to reduced or compromised heart
function such that the output of blood is inadequate to meet the body's oxygen
demands. There are many conditions that lead to CHF: Hypertension, failure of
heart valves to work properly, congenital malformations, hardening of the arteries
(arteriosclerosis), infections, constrictive infection of the lining around
the heart (pericarditis), and hyperthyroidism.
The symptoms of CHF vary according to the side of the heart affected -- left
or right. The most common symptoms are shortness of breath, cardiac asthma
(an asthma-like condition caused by heart failure), edema (build-up of fluid
in various body parts), cyanosis (bluish color to lips, nose, etc., caused by
lack of oxygen), and cardiac hypertrophy (heart enlargement).
Conventional
medical treatment varies with the cause, but often includes such therapeutic
measures as rest; use of oxygen; improvement of heart muscle contractibility
by use of certain drugs such as digitalis and diuretics; sodium restriction;
and correction of heart arrhythmias.
Is there anything natural medicine can offer in terms of prevention or
treatment of this insidious health challenge? Published research indicates
"yes" to both.
Prevention is pretty straightforward. At least some forms of CHF appear to
arise, in part, because of age-related declines in ubiquinone
(Coenzyme Q10) levels in heart muscle and elsewhere in the body. CoQ10, which
plays a vital role in the energy-generating machinery in every cell in our
bodies, is synthesized in the human liver. As we age our ability to produce
CoQ10 drops steadily. Dr. Karl Folkers, winner of
the prestigious Priestly Medal in Chemistry, and a University of Texas-Austin
researcher, believes that persons with CHF and cardiomyopathy
have below normal CoQ10 levels (Personal communication to the author back in
1987). To prevent this, many physicians and scientists suggest that people
over fifty years of age or so take 300 mgs. or more of CoQ10 daily.
Unfortunately, most forms of CoQ10 are poorly assimilated. One form that
isn’t is ubiquinol (See abstract in the References section below)
Since
high blood pressure can lead to CHF and seldom produces symptoms, readers
would be wise to have their blood pressure (BP) checked often. There are
simple-to-use, relatively economical BP monitors available at most pharmacies
and many large department stores. Should your BP creep up to the 130/90 level
(120/80 is normal), you are in the borderline high BP range. Your physician
should be called upon to double check this and prescribe the appropriate
BP-lowering regimen (typically sodium reduction, weight loss, and possibly the
use of a diuretic or other BP-lowering drug).
If your family has a history of heart disease, including CHF or cardiomyopathy, or if you have occasional arrhythmias,
there are published studies that indicate that vitamin E and magnesium are
helpful both in terms of prevention and as therapeutic tools. And of course,
regular physicals will help your doctor catch an evolving heart problem early
on and hopefully nip it in the bud.
What, if anything, can natural medicine offer those who have CHF?
First
off, CHF is a serious malady and under no circumstances should a CHF patient
commence taking a natural remedy on his own. Always involve a primary care
physician. Only he or she can decide the appropriateness of any adjunctive
(add on) measure and then faithfully and competently monitor a CHF patient,
and adjust or drop prescribed medications.
The promise of certain natural compounds and combinations of compounds for
CHF was driven home for “yours truly” by a series of experiments I conducted
involving first animals and then humans. The animals were pets with end-stage
CHF treated by veterinarians using protocols I provided them. The human
patients were treated by research-oriented MDs employing a slightly modified
version of the animal or veterinary regimen.
Most of the
animals were, in human equivalent years, 80-100 years old. The human patients
were as young as 60 and as old as 96. The treatment approach did, on a whole
result in increased ejection fractions (a measure of output from the heart),
quality of life and life span.
Here are two of the more dramatic cases and the outcome – taken from my own
published records:
Human: Female, age 96, mild-moderate CHF. Chronically short of breath,
fatigued and subject to frequent episodes of edema in the legs and feet.
Being treated with diuretics. Patient was placed on the therapeutic agents
recommended and showed a gradual but steady improvement in terms of
diminished symptoms during the ensuing six months. A thorough exam by her
cardiologist including echocardiogram, EKG, and other cardiac function tests
showed significantly improved heart action (ejection fractions).
Animal: Female longhair domestic "tuxedo" cat, aged 20
years, end-stage CHF. This poor animal was on beta blockers and a diuretic,
but coughed constantly, had virtually stopped eating (weighed 5 pounds),
could not walk more than a foot without being winded, and was having serious
episodes of breathlessness and cyanosis (tongue and lips bluish; tongue
hanging out). The owner implemented a high dose version of the CHF regimen,
almost as a last ditch effort. The day after commencing the therapy this cat
was sitting up and coughing less. Over the next two weeks the cat began
eating, stopped coughing for the most part, and the cyanosis disappeared. By
week three the cat was walking 5-7 feet without dyspnea
(shortness of breath). Improvement continued and the cat went on to live out
its natural life free of CHF symptoms.
And what brought about these noteworthy clinical responses? This is the
approach I tooled together:
Human: 100 mgs.of the amino acid L-Taurine per kilogram (2.2. pounds) of body weight. A
typical man weighs 77.27 kgs. or 170 pounds, which
is 77.27 x 100 = 7727 mgs. L-Taurine daily (Divided
doses on an empty stomach). Most L-Taurine supplements
come in 500 mg. tablet form. So, in the case of the average man, he would
take 5 tablets one hour before or two hours following each meal.
L-Taurine is an amino acid, one of the building blocks of
proteins and a player in many systems. In the brain it acts as a neuromodulator. It also plays a vital role in the heart
and eyes.
The
use of L-Taurine in the amelioration of CHF is in
accord with findings made in various published animal and human studies.
N-acetyl-carnitine:
250 mgs. 2-4 times daily. 500 mgs. in advanced cases.
Ubiquinol:
300 mgs. with or after meals (900 mgs. daily).
Octacosanol (1 capsule 2-3 times daily): This
wheat germ derivative appeared to increase some patient’s physical energy and
stamina.
Coleus (Coleus forskohlii):
475 mgs. 2-3 times daily. This Ayurvedic herb
raises levels of a regulatory compound called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in various
organs including heart and lungs. This boosts heart action and relaxes
bronchial airways. It is an herb that must be used with caution in people on
digitalis or other cardioactive drugs, and one that
Is contraindicated for use by men with prostrate trouble or a history of
prostate cancer.
My research collaborators and I found that patients not on a pharmaceutical
diuretic, but suffering from enough edema to need minor intervention
benefited from the herb Corn Silk:
475 mgs. 3-4 x daily. Corn silk is a mild diuretic.
Small animals (Cats) -- Crisis care
L-Taurine
powder: 500-1000 mgs. per 4 kilograms of body weight mixed with a small
can of cat's favorite canned food. Once the cat has exhausted his food and
shows a renewed interest in eating -- typically 4-6 hours later -- repeat.
Set out food and L-Taurine mixture before retiring
at night. A 9-pound cat (4 kilograms, roughly) would get 1000 mgs. Taurine powder.
N-acetyl-carnitine:
250 mg. capsule emptied into each canned food feeding.
Corn silk: 200-250 mgs. mixed into
each canned food feeding.
Coleus (Coleus forskohlii):
150 mgs. mixed into each canned food feeding.
Multi-mineral/vitamin tablet:
Ground and mixed into canned food per directions.
After the crisis
is passed and there is DVM-verified improvement:
Maintenance regimen
Continue
all the aforementioned, except the Coleus
forskohlii (lower or drop it). Reintroduce
Coleus if the cat begins experiencing cardiac asthma (wheezing and cough).
The measures outlined in this regimen, being implemented and supervised by a
physician (or veterinarian in the case of small pets), was found to offer
significant relief by improving cardiac function in most cases of CHF. This
is consistent with the published studies concerning various components of the
treatment program and the results obtained by health care providers employing
the complete regimen.
References
Azuma J et al. 'Double-blind randomized crossover trial of taurine in congestive heart failure.' Current Therapeu. Res., 34(4): 543-57, 1983.
Azuma J et al. 'Therapeutic effect of taurine in
congestive heart failure: A double blind crossover trial.' Clin. Cardiol., 8:276-82, 1985.
Azuma J et al, 'Usefulness of taurine in chronic
congestive heart failure and its prospective application,' Jpn Circ J., #56, pp. 95-99, Jan. 1992
Schoekess, BO et al, 'Propionyl
L-carnitine improvement of hypertrophied rat heart
function is associated with an increase in cardiac efficiency,' Eur. J. Pharmacol., #286, pp. 155-156, 1995 Nov. 14.
Kitamura N et al. 'Myocardial tissue level of coenzyme Q10 in patients with
cardiac failure, in Folkers K, Yamamura Y, Eds., Biochem. & Clin. Aspects of
Coenzyme Q10, Vol. 4. Amerstam, Elsevier/North
Holland Biomedical Press, 1984, pp. 243-252.
Baggio E et al, 'Italian multicenter study on the
safety and efficacy of Coenzyme Q10 as an adjunctive therapy in heart
failure' (Interim analysis), Clin. Investig., #71, pp. 145-149, 1993
Morisco C et al, 'Effect of Coenzyme Q10 therapy in
patients with congestive heart failure: A long-term multicenter randomized
study,' Clin. Investig.,
#71, pp. 134-136, 1993
Seamon KB et al. 'Forskohlin:
A unique diterpene activator of cyclic-AMP
generating systems'. J. Cyclic Nucleo. Res., #7,
201-24, 1981.
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