Supplements For Cardiac Ablations

Jeff asked

I am 65 yrs old;  5ft, 11in and weigh 168 pounds. I have gone through two cardioversions and two ablations--each a year apart--for my A-fib which began 3 years ago. I also have a slightly leaky heart valve. I don't drink alcohol, pop, coffee, and don't smoke. My most recent ablation procedure was done as recently as November 19, 2013. It was successful. I am no longer on blood thinner or meds; baby aspirin has be recommended, however. I am seeing a homeopath who is daily treating me using the TKM method (see KingInstitute.com). My greatest need is to know what herbs, vitamins, and foods would be the most helpful to my heart tissue. Would you please send some suggestions? Thank you.

Answer

We have checked with all of the pharmacists that are with us here at PharmacistAnswers and no one was familiar with the TKM method, so we went to the reference you listed (we believe the site is KingInstitute.org and not .com…. the .com site was a blank page) and made ourselves somewhat familiar with it.

We would like the thank you for bringing this type of medical healing to our attention. We are always looking to constantly expand both our knowledge and the knowledge of our readers. It is certainly something we will gather research on to have a greater understanding of its place in therapy.

This brings us to the information you are looking for. What kind of herbs, vitamins, and foods are helpful for heart tissue and arrhythmias in general.

We always like to preface our herbal recommendations with the disclaimer that we highly recommend and encourage all patients taking herbal medications and alternative therapies to make sure they make their doctor aware of what they are taking.

Even the most studied herbal remedies don’t have nearly a complete profile on how exactly they work in the body and the possible side effects/interactions they may cause. The following details are for informational purposes only.

There are two things we want to give you information on, natural therapies and prevention.

Natural Therapies

All herbals listed have unclear conclusive evidence but do nonetheless have some evidence for use and certainly warrant further research! The following seem to have the greatest positive evidence:

Coenzyme Q10

Also known as ubiquinone, it is actually produced in our bodies. It is absolutely necessary for the functioning of the cells in our body. There has been evidence that Q10 supplements can reduce the risk of certain types of cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias. It has been mostly studied in patients with heart failure and hypertension. Again, studies have been conflicting but many do report statistically significant positive findings.

L-Carnitine

This is an amino acid and again, is found naturally in our bodies. It is currently a wildly popular supplement in the weight loss industry due to its supposed effects on the metabolism of fat. L-carnitine has been an extensively tested molecule and has shown clear benefits in peripheral vascular disease and angina. Studies regarding arrhythmias have actually been promising as well but further study is certainly needed.

Magnesium

We want to start off by saying you should not take magnesium if you were to start back up on any kind of blood thinners or if you have any kidney dysfunction. Magnesium is actually known to reduce the incidence of arrhythmias, but it only been studied while given intravenously. The effects of supplementation by mouth are not as well known.

Omega 3

Fatty Acids are another supplement that has promising evidence for reducing the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.

Corydalis

This is an herb that has been used in ancient Chinese medicine. Evidence suggests that this herb may be beneficial in those with abnormal heart rhythms or had previous abnormal heart rhythms.

We hope this list at least gives you a starting point for further research on what may be beneficial for you! None of our pharmacists our herbals or experts in the field of natural medicine, unfortunately.

The above list again has the best medical evidence that we knew of and could find for you.

Preventative 

Based on the information in your question, you seem to lead a healthy lifestyle! The following can be helpful in preventing future heart problems:

• Exercise: Exercise has been shown to improve overall health including blood pressure, inflammatory markers in the body and blood sugars.
• Avoiding certain OTC drugs: Try avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and nasal decongestants.
• Diet: Diet is obviously important in maintaining heart health. It is recommended to have 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetable, foods high in soluble fiber and an overall balanced diet.