Cardiotonic Herbs

 

The inspiration for this post came after a friend of mine, a very young guy not even thirty years old, had a minor heart attack.

He is doing fine and the doctors don't have any clear diagnosis of what caused it. 

I really would like to suggest that he take Hawthorn berries, even just for a few months to help strengthen his heart. 

But the truth be told I don't fully understand how these plants help and affect the heart. 

Even after going through the research that has been done on these plants it is hard to understand the mechanism behind their effects on improving cardio health. 

Hawthorn is still at the top of the list of Cardiotonic herbs, while garlic even though I did not add it as one of the three cardiotonic herbs, is by many considered to be a cardiotonic as well. 

The second on the list of cardiotonic herbs is motherwort, the latin name for this plant is Leonurus cardiaca, so even the name implies its use as cardiotonic.

I found some very in depth research into effects of Motherwort that show how it actually helps protect the heart. 

Here is the link to that.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2019/4303215/

The last on my list of cardiotonics is Convallaria, also known commonly as “Lily of the valley”.

The reason that I put it at the bottom of the list is because it seems to work like foxglove which is a strong heart stimulant and needs to be used with care.