Description
Considered a classic heart-supporting herb, hawthorn, a flowering shrub and a member of the rose family, is an excellent help in maintaining healthy heart and muscle function. The leaves, berries and flowers have been used medicinally for centuries and contain flavonoids that have antioxidant effects.
Hawthorn has been shown to provide support for the whole cardiovascular system, including the vessels and atherscurotic mechanisms. It helps balance blood pressure and arrhythmias and is great at lowering inflammation involved with the heart. It may play a role in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and in particular, congestive heart failure.
Reviews of placebo-controlled trials at the New York Heart Association have reported both subjective and objective improvement in patients with mild forms of heart failure. Other studies of hawthorn in patients with heart failure have revealed improvement in clinical symptoms, pressure–heart rate product, left ventricular ejection fraction, and patients’ subjective sense of well-being.
Other current research suggests hawthorn may be a safe, effective, nontoxic agent in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD).
Why We Love Hawthorn, the heart helper
It’s primarily used to help various cardiovascular conditions, but we often have our Bartonella patients take hawthorn because of how common heart- and-nerve-related symptoms are from that infection. This can also happen with Lyme and Babesia patients. For Babesia patients, they’ll often experience air hunger as a symptom, thinking it has more to do with their lungs. At least half of our Bartonella patients will report having heart-related symptoms, such as flutters in their heart or other abnormal feelings in their chest.
While we often send patients to get their hearts evaluated to make sure they are in the clear, the majority of the time patients check out fine, yet they still experience these symptoms. Typically, these unpleasant and unnerving sensations are often collateral damage caused by the infection’s effects on the nervous system.
Whether a patient is experiencing palpitations, POTS, arrhythmias or many other heart-related symptoms, we’ll likely add hawthorn to the protocol to help support that area of the body as we address the root causes.
References
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
- Chang WT, Dao J, Shao ZH. Hawthorn: Potential Roles in Cardiovascular Disease. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine. Published 2005; 33(01):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X05002606. Accessed January 18, 2022.
- Tassell MC, Kingston R, Gilroy D, Lehane M, Furey A. Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Pharmacogn Rev. Published January-June 2010; 4(7):32-41. PMCID: PMC3249900. PMID: 22228939. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.65324. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249900/. Accessed January 18, 2022.
- Dahmer S, Scott E. Health Effects of Hawthorn. Am Fam Physician. Published February 15, 2010; 81(4):465-468. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0215/p465.html. Accessed January 18, 2022.
- Rigelsky JM, Sweet BV. Hawthorn: Pharmacology and therapeutic uses. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Published March 1, 2002; 59(5):417-422. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/59.5.417. Accessed January 18, 2022.
Warnings
Always be sure to speak with your healthcare provider before starting any new nutritional supplement when pregnant or nursing. For children, we recommend speaking with your child's pediatrician regarding proper dosing. Store away from children.
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