Best herbs for heart arrhythmia and general strength?

Hi Everyone,

I wasn't expecting such an amazing response to the lung-health thread!  This time, I'm looking for advice re. the heart.

I had a strange, flu-like illness while abroad last year, and my heart hasn't been the same since.  I've always had some sort of arrhythmia, but only occasionally, and after things like eating too much dark chocolate.  However, my heartbeat seems weaker than it was before illness, and lately I'm having icy sensations in my chest, and the arrhythmia is happening during the day, for no apparent reason.

As such, is there anything that's particularly good for heart health?  I'm drinking strong dandelion tea, and taking garlic and chili vinegar infusion regularly, purely because these seem like generally good things to do, and dandelion, being a solar plant, might be connected to the heart.  That's about as far as I've taken things, but they don't really seem to be helping.

I'm trying not to be a hypochondriac, but it'd be nice to feel my heart was doing his job properly.

Any help is much appreciated!

Cheers for now,

-- Jojo

Herbs that help with lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and improving circulation are all good for the heart.

My suggestion would be to eat foods with garlic and fennel.

I bought turmeric capsules for dear hubby though foods that include turmeric would be good.

I am sure you know this though when it come to blood pressure and heart conditions it is best to talk with a MD.  These are two things that are very important to life.

What Anne said! With heart stuff, getting an opinion from some sort of qualified health professional is usually wise. There are various herbs that are specific for heart health and arrhythmia, but it depends if you feel your heartbeat is too slow or too fast during an episode, and if it's regular or irregular.

Foe example, hawthorn is a great heart strengthener, but can slow the heartbeat and lower blood pressure quite a lot. So if you already have a slow heartbeat and your blood pressure drops during episodes (feeling faint, light-headed and dizzy can be a sign of that) it might not be your best choice. And the other hand if your heart beats fast and you feel anxious during an episode, motherwort is a great herb for this. Getting advice from a herbalist who can check your pulse and blood pressure and discuss the symptoms in depth with you would make a big difference in getting the best herb for you.

My favorites are hawthorn and ajuga reptans. Borage might be good

Anne Miller wrote:Herbs that help with lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and improving circulation are all good for the heart.

My suggestion would be to eat foods with garlic and fennel.

I bought turmeric capsules for dear hubby though foods that include turmeric would be good.

I am sure you know this though when it come to blood pressure and heart conditions it is best to talk with a MD.  These are two things that are very important to life.

I'm going to town with garlic and putting turmeric in the soups I make, so this is a go!  Thanks, Anne.

Jane Mulberry wrote:What Anne said! With heart stuff, getting an opinion from some sort of qualified health professional is usually wise. There are various herbs that are specific for heart health and arrhythmia, but it depends if you feel your heartbeat is too slow or too fast during an episode, and if it's regular or irregular.

Foe example, hawthorn is a great heart strengthener, but can slow the heartbeat and lower blood pressure quite a lot. So if you already have a slow heartbeat and your blood pressure drops during episodes (feeling faint, light-headed and dizzy can be a sign of that) it might not be your best choice. And the other hand if your heart beats fast and you feel anxious during an episode, motherwort is a great herb for this. Getting advice from a herbalist who can check your pulse and blood pressure and discuss the symptoms in depth with you would make a big difference in getting the best herb for you.

I've never heard that about hawthorn, Jane.  Very interesting, and there are loads of hawthorn trees around me.  Is it the bark that's used?

I have felt lightheaded, and had to get up and move around as a result.  My heart rate's fairly normal, around 60 bpm, but it doesn't feel as strong as it should.  During an episode, it'll beat a few times fast, then stop for a bit, then restart.  Either that, or it'll just be irregular for a few seconds.  The icy sensation's new, though.

I'd prefer to talk to a herbalist who knows about these things than a GP.  I'll go into a healthfood shop where I know the owner this week, and see if she knows anybody.

Thanks for the tips already!

Judson Carroll wrote:My favorites are hawthorn and ajuga reptans. Borage might be good

Hi Judson.  Hawthorn does seem to be a thing.  I've never heard of ajuga reptans, but I'll keep my eyes open for borage plants and take some flowers if I see any.  Cheers for this!

Jojo Cameron wrote:Hi Everyone,
I had a strange, flu-like illness while abroad last year, and my heart hasn't been the same since.  I've always had some sort of arrhythmia, but only occasionally, and after things like eating too much dark chocolate.  However, my heartbeat seems weaker than it was before illness, and lately I'm having icy sensations in my chest, and the arrhythmia is happening during the day, for no apparent reason.


-- Jojo

I was a cardiac nurse for 5 years, and now ICU. For your symptoms I suggest a quick trip to the emergency room. At worst it's a waste of a few hours and bit of uncomfortableness. In many cases it's something fixable if done on time. Not fixable if left too late.

Dizziness isn't something to ignore. It suggests a weak heart or poor circulation to the brain. An irregular heart beat can cause that. Depending on the exact type of irregularity and the cause, it can often be fixed.

By the way, I sympathize with your story of the weird, flulike illness. I always had low blood pressure until 2 years ago when I caught Covid. Suddenly now I have high blood pressure. I am convinced it caused some vascular damage.

Sorry I don't have any advice with foods or herbs.

Thom Bri wrote:

I was a cardiac nurse for 5 years, and now ICU. For your symptoms I suggest a quick trip to the emergency room. At worst it's a waste of a few hours and bit of uncomfortableness. In many cases it's something fixable if done on time. Not fixable if left too late.

Dizziness isn't something to ignore. It suggests a weak heart or poor circulation to the brain. An irregular heart beat can cause that. Depending on the exact type of irregularity and the cause, it can often be fixed.

By the way, I sympathize with your story of the weird, flulike illness. I always had low blood pressure until 2 years ago when I caught Covid. Suddenly now I have high blood pressure. I am convinced it caused some vascular damage.

Sorry I don't have any advice with foods or herbs.

Thanks, Thom.  I suppose I'll have to go and see a doctor, yes.  And it doesn't seem too controversial to say that something wasn't right about that whole Covid thing.

In my opinion, the heart, in a situation like this, deserves a trip to the doctor, first thing. I'd want to know what the problem is, before picking herbs to treat it. That said, I've been working with herbs to keep my husband's ticker thumping, sans medicine, for years, after 7+heart attacks and a ton of horrible side effects from the drugs the cardiologists had him on.

His routine includes Hawthorne (heart strength & general heart health), passionflower (pulmonary strength, artery resiliency/flexibility, stress) & St John's Wort (stress, anxiety, blood pressure, pain), and Mimosa, because he's had a great deal of grief that has added to his mental/ emotional pain). He's currently taking most of it via capsules, but the Mimosa is via tincture. We also eat a lot of garlic, Horseradish, cayenne, fermented foods, etc, to keep everything flowing - blood, digestion, joints, etc. And, artificial sweeteners are eradicated, & sugar has been all but eliminated - only tiny amounts, for feeding yeast/ferments still make it into our diets. We opt instead, for stevia, monkfruit, inulin, some erythritol (this is a natural sweetener, but it's highly processed, so we're careful with it) and on a very limited basis, honey & Maple syrup.

My grandfather slips into A-Fib from time to time and found that a turmeric supplement was helpful for his health.

Carla Burke wrote:

His routine includes Hawthorne (heart strength & general heart health), passionflower (pulmonary strength, artery resiliency/flexibility, stress) & St John's Wort (stress, anxiety, blood pressure, pain), and Mimosa, because he's had a great deal of grief that has added to his mental/ emotional pain).

Carla, thanks for this.

I did go to A-n-E, but the waiting time was 12 hours, and I gave up after 6, because I had work to do, and they'd put me as 'Not very urgent'.  I took that as a good sign.  It also meant I could have been there indefinitely, because anybody in any of the three more-urgent categories would've been seen before me.

The problem is most likely a combination of too much caffeine/sugar, plus stress, plus the weakening effect of whatever it was I had last year.

I have a hawthorn twig I'm going to make tea with, because it seems it can't hurt.

I also spoke to a Polish healthfood shop owner, who said, "If it's the heart, it's probably stress-related.  If you're gonna die, you're gonna die, regardless of how many supplements you take, so stop making things worse by getting stressed, and appreciate the present moment!"  This was refreshing, and mildly shocking to hear from someone who makes a living selling supplements and healthfood!

Things are in flux a bit much to go to the doctor, but I will at some point.  In the meantime, I'll try some of the non-controversial herbal remedies, like hawthorn and St. John's wort.

Thanks for the tips!

I agree with your Polish shop owner/ friend, whole-heartedly.
Other things that have helped immensely:
(After his 5th heart attack) he finally gave up smoking.
He gave up diet coke.
He gave up artificial sweeteners.
Our teenage daughters grew up and went out on their own - this was HUGE.
We moved out of the city, to a place that aligned better with our philosophies.  
We stopped drinking municipal water, because our new place had an artesian well, thus getting more chemicals out of our systems.
Our move took us away from the pollution of the city, into the woods, where the air is so much cleaner.
We severed contact with many toxic people who'd been prominent fixtures in our lives.
We cut out most processed foods.

I know much of this will be irrelevant, or even impossible for many, but there may still be steps that *can* be taken, that will have beneficial effects. Can't move out of the city? Maybe start taking more frequent trips out of it. Put filters on all the faucets - including the shower and bath tubs - and maintain them. Grow as much of your own food as possible, even in a window - though I've lived for years, in the past, in places where even this was all but impossible. Buy organic, remove as much of the synthetics from your life as possible. Find ways to reduce stress.

Jojo Cameron wrote:
I did go to A-n-E, but the waiting time was 12 hours, and I gave up after 6, because I had work to do, and they'd put me as 'Not very urgent'.  I took that as a good sign.  It also meant I could have been there indefinitely, because anybody in any of the three more-urgent categories would've been seen before me.

The problem is most likely a combination of too much caffeine/sugar, plus stress, plus the weakening effect of whatever it was I had last year.

I have a hawthorn twig I'm going to make tea with, because it seems it can't hurt.

I also spoke to a Polish healthfood shop owner, who said, "If it's the heart, it's probably stress-related.  If you're gonna die, you're gonna die, regardless of how many supplements you take, so stop making things worse by getting stressed, and appreciate the present moment!"  This was refreshing, and mildly shocking to hear from someone who makes a living selling supplements and healthfood!

Things are in flux a bit much to go to the doctor, but I will at some point.  In the meantime, I'll try some of the non-controversial herbal remedies, like hawthorn and St. John's wort.

Thanks for the tips!

Hi Jojo,

I sympathize with your situation. I have chronic heart disease, which was over-medicated for years, leading to side effects that are worse than the disease. I am definitely much more skeptical of mainstream medicine than I was a few years ago. There's nothing wrong with helping the heart mostly through stress reduction, healthy eating and so on. I'm doing all those things, while trying to find some minimal regimen of medications that work for my situation.

However... the symptoms you describe do sound worrying. Other than the obvious thing our minds jump to (heart attack), it could also be thyroid problems, pericarditis (an infection of the tissue around the heart), a lung infection, or some sort of post-viral syndrome (since you mentioned a flu-like episode a while back). I had a friend who noticed something weird going on with his heart and it turned out to be thyroid problems.

None of that is very likely. The most likely thing is that you're fine! But these conditions are serious enough that even a 5% chance of something like that merits a visit to the emergency room. I know things are tough in the UK right now with the NHS being understaffed. If not A&E, then maybe you have a family doctor who you can call?