Heart Arrhythmia
heart arrhythmiaA heartbeat is a highly coordinated event. Nerves need to fire in precisely the right sequence to stimulate muscles that contract the chambers of the heart. When a heartbeat goes perfectly, blood flows through your heart and out to your lungs and the rest of your body.
When this process goes awry, it results in heart arrhythmia. If nerves fire out of sequence, the chambers of the heart don’t contract properly.
Usually, arrhythmia is the result of damage to the heart muscle. The cause could be coronary artery disease or even a viral infection, says Decker Weiss, N.M.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix. "Anything that affects the heart adversely can affect the nerve conduction system of the heart, which is what controls the heartbeat."
Sometimes, and often in conjunction with heart disease, mineral imbalances can interfere with the heart’s normal nerve function. These imbalances may be brought on by drugs that have been prescribed to treat high blood pressure or congestive heart failure.
You need to be under a doctor’s care if you have arrhythmia, but there are some mineral and herb treatments that can go hand in hand with medications to help keep the nerves firing smoothly. Just make sure your doctor knows what supplements you’re taking.
Two minerals, potassium and magnesium, play an especially important role in helping your heart beat properly.
Potassium Powers the Pump
If you’re a heart patient, your doctor will monitor your blood levels of potassium. Low potassium can cause heart arrhythmia, and certain types of diuretics, such as thiazide (Hydrodiuril), can leach this mineral from your body, says Carla Sueta, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Digitalis, a common heart medication, can also lower potassium.
Potassium deficiency affects more than your heart. It can also weaken your muscles and lead to mental confusion.
The amount of this mineral that you need depends on your blood levels. The Daily Value for potassium is 3,500 milligrams, but food gives most people what they need. Potassium supplements in amounts higher than 99 milligrams per tablet are available only by prescription. Too much potassium is as bad as too little, so it is essential that you work with your doctor if you need supplemental potassium to control your heartbeat, Dr. Sueta says.
Magnesium Keeps the Beat
When magnesium levels in the heart are low, people can develop certain types of heart arrhythmia. Some of them are potentially dangerous, Dr. Sueta says. The effects of magnesium are so well proven that doctors sometimes give it intravenously to prevent certain kinds of arrhythmia. Studies have shown, for instance, that intravenous magnesium reduces the incidence of death from ventricular arrhythmia, which involves the lower chambers of the heart. "In fact, intravenous therapy with magnesium now is considered standard for two types of ventricular arrhythmia," Dr. Sueta says.
Just as diuretics and digitalis can cause potassium deficiency, these medications can also induce a shortage of magnesium. Moreover, magnesium is often at the bottom of what’s called refractory potassium deficiency, says Michael A. Brodsky, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and director of the cardiac electrophysiology/arrhythmia service at the university’s medical school.
"The amount of magnesium in the body determines the amount of a particular enzyme that determines the amount of potassium," says Dr. Brodsky. "If you are magnesium deficient, you may in turn be potassium deficient, and no amount of potassium is going to correct this unless you are also getting enough magnesium."
It’s best if your doctor monitors your blood levels of magnesium, because how much you need depends on the amount that’s in your blood. A test that measures ionized magnesium—the active form of magnesium in the blood—can detect a deficiency before it reaches a critical level, Dr. Sueta says.
Smoother Beating with CoQ10
Along with magnesium, Dr. Weiss may recommend coenzyme Q10 (coQ10) for heart arrhythmia.
This vitamin-like substance is made in the body, particularly in the cells of the heart muscle, where it is used to produce the energy that the muscle needs. Additional coQ10 seems to provide more energy to the muscle cells, an action that can be of great benefit for heart disease, Dr. Weiss says.
CoQ10 also seems to help reduce stiffening of the heart muscle. This stiffening can produce abnormalities called diastolic dysfunction, says Peter Langsjoen, M.D., a cardiologist in Tyler, Texas. Dr. Langsjoen has been using coQ10 in his practice to treat heart disease since 1985.
The diastolic, or filling, phase of the cardiac cycle actually requires more energy than the systolic, or contraction, phase, Dr. Langsjoen says. "Relaxation of the muscle actually requires energy," he points out. "This stiffening of the heart muscle returns to normal with supplemental coQ10, and people have less fatigue." In his observation, coQ10 not only improves irregular heart rhythm but also reduces chest pain. "It’s as dramatic as watering a dried-up houseplant."
The need for additional coQ10 depends on your symptoms. Dr. Weiss starts with a minimum dose of 120 milligrams a day divided into four 30-milligram doses. To aid absorption, he suggests taking it between meals with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. If you’re taking the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) for heart disease, though, be sure to talk to your doctor, since taking coQ10 can cause a slight decrease in its effectiveness.
Dr. Langsjoen starts people on twice that much, 240 milligrams a day, and may raise the level as high as 360 milligrams, divided into three daily doses, if symptoms are severe.
Some people respond quickly to coQ10, while others show little or no response for weeks or months, says Dr. Weiss.
This supplement is expensive, so you’ll want to stay with the lowest dose that relieves your symptoms. Studies show that there are no side effects or toxicity.
CoQ10 is fat-soluble, which means that your body will absorb more of the active ingredient if it’s in a gel cap rather than a powder or tablet. If you do use tablets, you’ll get the most from them by taking them with a meal that contains some fat or with a fat-containing food such as peanut butter.
Fats That Help Your Heart
Dr. Weiss recommends cutting back the fats that can harm your heart, including the saturated fats that come from animal sources and hydrogenated fats found in many high-fat food products. Instead, he urges getting more of two essential fatty acids that help to protect your heart.
The sought-after ingredients are the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils and omega-3’s and omega-6’s from flaxseed oil and borage oil respectively, among other sources. Dr. Weiss recommends that people with heart arrhythmia get 1,000 to 3,000 milligrams a day of a mixture of these two fats. They are available as gel caps or, in the case of flaxseed or borage oil, in liquid form.
Strengthen with Hawthorn
When someone’s heart is additionally weakened by cardiovascular disease or congestive heart failure, Dr. Weiss may add hawthorn, an herb known for its heart-strengthening effects. Hawthorn contains bioflavonoids, compounds that act as heart-protective antioxidants.
"Hawthorn’s bioflavonoids are considered to be very specific for blood vessels," Dr. Weiss says. German researchers report that it gently increases the strength of the heartbeat. Typically, it also helps the heart muscle beat at a normal rhythm and simultaneously increases blood supply to the heart.
Hawthorn is used while the current problem exists, explains Dr. Weiss. If a patient’s heart function is improving due to diet and lifestyle changes such as exercise and weight reduction, Dr. Weiss will wean him off hawthorn.
Although Dr. Weiss says that he has monitored patients on hawthorn for many years without seeing any problems with the supplement, he still advises that you get your doctor’s advice before you use it, especially if you are taking other heart drugs. You may require lower doses of other medications, such as blood pressure drugs, since hawthorn has been shown to lower blood pressure.
As for dosage requirements, the amount of hawthorn you should take depends on your symptoms and the type of hawthorn you’re using. A typical tonic dose is ¼ teaspoon of standardized extract taken two or three times daily.
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