Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Diet and Nutrition: (references)

• Avoid excessive dietary salt, sodium and chloride
• No caffeine, refined carbohydrates and saturated fats
• Eat high fiber diet

Vitamins and Minerals: (references)

• Vitamin B-Complex: (with at least 200 mg. Vitamin B1)
• Vitamin D: 400 I.U.
• Vitamin C: 100-1,000 mg. in divided doses
• Vitamin E: 400 - 1200 I.U.
• Magnesium: 500 mg.
• Calcium (Citrate form): 1 gm.
• Potassium: 100 - 500 mg.

Supplements: (references)

• Coenzyme Q10: 60 - 150 mg. in small divided doses every 2 hours
• L-Carnitine: 1000 - 3000 mg. in divided doses
• Taurine: 500 - 4,000 mg. in divided doses on an empty stomach
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 2 - 5 gm. TID
• Heart Glandular: 1 tablet BID
• Kidney Glandular: 1 tablet BID
• Arginine: 500 - 4,000 mg. in divided doses on an empty stomach

Botanicals: (references)

• Tincture - Crataegus oxycantha (Hawthorne): 1/4 tsp TID
• Circulatory Pizazz Tincture - Ginkgo biloba, Panax ginseng, Arctium lappa, Zingiber officinale, Zanthoxyllum clava-herculis officinalis, Rosmarius officinalis, Capsicum frutescens: 1/4 tsp. TID

• Individual botanicals to be considered for this condtion:
  Arctium lappa (Burdock)
  Capsicum frutescens (Cayenne, Red pepper)
  Crataegus oxycantha (Hawthorne)
  Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo)
  Panax ginseng (Chinese ginseng, Korean ginseng)
  Petroselinum crispum (Parsley)
  Rosmarius officinalis (Rosemary)
  Stellaria media (Chickweed)
  Urtica urens (Nettles)
  Zanthoxylum clava-herculis (Southern prickly ash)
  Zea mays (Corn silk)
  Zingiber officinale (Ginger)

Homeopathic Remedies: (references)

• Congestive heart failure, general:
  
  ACON, apis, asaf, APOC, cham, CRAT, cycl, dig, GLON, hyper, lach, lil-t, nux-m, phos, puls, sulph

(For an overview of Homeopathy, click here.)

Other Therapies: (references)

• Congestive heart IV therapy
• Tonic IV therapy
• Complete bed rest for 3 weeks or more in severe cases is essential - absolutely no excessive physical exertion
• Exercise (after required bed rest and fluid reduction)
• Avoid exposure to high levels of air pollution
• Supplement with thyroid hormone if suffering from hypothyroidism

Recommended Labs:

• Check for coronary artery disease: Chest X-Ray, ECG, Exercise Stress, B-Type Natriuretic Peptide, Multiple-Gated Acqusition Scanning, Angiogram
• Rule out kidney disease: Urea Nitrogen, Creatinine, Urea Nitrogen-Creatinine Ratio, Electrolytes

*  The recommended use of this supplement or therapy is based on a physiological mechanism or empirical data and is not necessarily supported by peer-reviewed research studies.

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).