Hawthorn and Chronic Heart Failure

Historically, hawthorn was used by Roman physicians as a heart drug in the first century A.D. The literature from that period focuses on its symbolic use of hawthorn for religious rites and political ceremonies. During the Middle Ages, hawthorn was used for the treatment of "dropsy," or congestive heart failure. Today, extracts made from the flower, leaf, and berry of the hawthorn plant have been used extensively in Europe to treat a variety of circulatory disorders, including high blood pressure.

Heart failure is a health condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood at a rate sufficient to meet the metabolic demands of the body. People sometimes have signs of congestive heart failure without any symptoms of congestion so doctors now prefer the term "heart failure." Heart failure can be caused by a variety of cardiac disorders, so it is actually a clinical syndrome rather than a specific disease. In chronic (long-term) heart failure, the heart muscle adapts by becoming thicker. Doctors call this "ventricular hypertrophy." But thicker does not mean stronger. Just the opposite, the abnormally thick heart wall is stiff and dysfunctional.

Researchers analyzed 10 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies using hawthorn extract along with conventional medications for heart failure. The trials involved 855 patients with chronic heart failure (New York Heart Association classes I to III) who were followed for up to 26 weeks. Patients were evaluated as to the amount of energy and how long they could sustain this activity when working out on an exercise bike. Researchers found that hawthorn extract significantly improved heart function in both cases and also reduced shortness of breath and fatigue in comparison to the placebo group. Very few side effects were reported in the group using hawthorn extract. In conclusion, the researchers determined that hawthorn extract taken along with standard heart medications showed significant improvement in symptom control and exercise performance in patients with chronic heart failure. Patients should not take hawthorn extract unless their physician knows about it because the extract could interact with the other medications the patient is taking.¹

¹ Pittler M, Guo R, Ernst E. Hawthorn extract for treating chronic heart failure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Jan2008;(1):CD005312.