Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a serious condition that requires support from health professionals. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may help your heart keep pumping the blood your body needs:
Natural Remedies for Congestive Heart Failure
– Get help from hawthorn
Take 300 mg of the herbal extract hawthorn three times a day to reduce symptoms and improve exercise capacity
– Try taurine
Improve heart muscle contraction by taking 2 grams of this amino acid three times a day
– Add a carnitine to your routine
Take 1,500 to 2,000 mg of an L-carnitine or propionyl-L-carnitine supplement every day to improve heart function and exercise capacity
– Check out coenzyme Q10
To determine how much of this powerful antioxidant supplement you need daily, calculate 0.9 mg for every pound of body weight
– Mix in some magnesium
Take 300 mg a day of this essential mineral to prevent a deficiency that can lead to heart arrhythmias
These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full congestive heart failure article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.
Lifestyle changes that may be helpful
Even with severe disease, appropriate exercise can benefit those with CHF.1 2 In a controlled trial, long-term (one year) exercise training led to improvements in quality of life and functional capacity in people with CHF. Nonetheless, too much exercise can be life-threatening for those with CHF. How much is “too much” varies from person to person; therefore, any exercise program undertaken by someone with CHF requires professional supervision.
What to stay away from
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) appear to significantly increase the risk of CHF. The use of NSAIDs in one preliminary study was found to double the likelihood of hospital admission with CHF the following week. This likelihood increased by more than 10 times for patients with a history of heart disease. This study did not include people taking low-dose aspirin.
Vitamins that may be helpful
People with CHF have insufficient oxygenation of the heart, which can damage the heart muscle. Such damage may be…