The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Coronary Heart Disease

(Myocardial Infarction)

Contents:

Definition | Symptoms | Nutrients
Herbs | Recommendations | Suggestions | Bibliography

Definition

Sometimes called a “coronary” or a “heart attack”, myocardial infarction is a condition caused by occlusion of one or more of the coronary arteries. The symptoms include prolonged heavy pressure or squeezing pain in the center of the chest behind the sternum (breast bone). Typically, the patient will describe this by clenching a fist and holding it over the heart to demonstrate the character of the pain. The pain may spread to the shoulder, neck, arm, and fourth and fifth fingers of the left hand; to the back, to the teeth, or to the jaw. These symptoms may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, sweating, and shortness of breath. The may come and go.

It is important that medical care be obtained without delay. About half of myocardial infarction patients die prior to reaching the hospital. Delaying specific therapy may cause loss of life.

When the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen thicken, harden, and narrow, the heart is deprived of needed oxygen. This deprivation often results in chest pain, called angina pectoris. When damage to the heart muscle is incurred, the individual suffers a heart attack or myocardial infarction. In addition to insufficient blood flow to the heart can cause abnormal heartbeat rhythms called arrhythmias.

A coronary may be triggered by a partial or complete blockage of the coronary arteries, an emotional crisis, a heavy meal, or overexertion from exercise or heavy lifting.

Cardiac failure is a condition resulting fro inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood to meet the needs of the body. Following a coronary, the heart muscles may be damaged or scarred, resulting in the inability of the heart to perform normally. Cardiac insufficiency is the inadequate cardiac output due to failure of the heart to function properly, as in valvular deficiency.
Back to Top

Symptoms

Nervous agitation, rapid tiring, and “running out of breath” while exerting oneself by climbing stairs or performing physical labor are early signs of heart disease. Palpitations, angina pectoris, difficulty of breathing (shortness of breath), hypertension, edema, dropsy, decline in performance, are all symptoms of the older patient.

Recovery from illness, especially infectious illnesses, or operations, is slow in some people. They can’t quite seem to “get back on their feet”, they feel lethargic and tired, even though they have recovered from the illness. This indicates something wrong with the circulatory system, blood pressure is often low. See the doctor, this may be a sign of heart problems later on in life.
Back to Top

Nutrients

Choline and inositol and lecithin, taken as directed on the label (these substances aid in the removal of fat from the liver and bloodstream).

Coenzyme Q10, 100 mg. per day, improves heart muscle oxygenation.

Selenium, 300 mg. per day (a deficiency of selenium has been implicated in heart disease).

Vitamin E capsules or liquid or emulsion, 200 IU per day, increase slowly to 800 IU per day for capsules or liquid, take as directed on the label for emulsion.

Calcium, 1,500 mg. per day in divided doses, is important for maintaining proper heart rhythm and blood pressure.

Magnesium chelate, 1,000 mg. per day in divided doses, is important for maintaining proper heart rhythm and blood pressure. Copper, 3 mg. per day.

Garlic capsules, 2 capsules 3 times per day, helps promote circulation.

L-Carnitine and L-cysteine and L-methionine, 500 mg. each per day, prevents heart disease by reducing blood fat. Multidigestive enzymes, 2 tablets between meals, is an anti-inflammatory agent.

Unsaturated fatty acids (primrose or salmon oil), taken as directed on the label, protects the heart muscle cells. Vitamin A emulsion, taken as directed on the label, is an important antioxidant.

Zinc chelate, 50 mg. per day, is necessary for proper balance with copper and for thiamin utilization.

Vitamin C and bioflavonoids, 3,000-5,000 mg. per day, aids in thinning the blood; helps prevent blood clots.
Back to Top

Herbs
  • Angelica
  • Apple
  • Artichoke
  • Ash, prickly
  • Bayberry
  • Betony, wood
  • Bitter root
  • Bittersweet
  • Blackberry
  • Borage
  • Broom
  • Butcher’s broom
  • Butterbur
  • Cayenne
  • Celandine
  • Chamomile
  • Chicory
  • Cheoanthus
  • Cherry, wild
  • Clover, red
  • Cohosh, black
  • Coriander
  • Cramp bark
  • Dandelion
  • Fennel
  • Fig
  • Five finger grass
  • Fo-ti
  • Fringe tree
  • Garlic
  • Gentian
  • Ginger, wild
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • Ginseng
  • Goldenseal
  • Gum plant
  • Hawthorn, berries
  • Hibiscus flowers
  • Hops
  • Horsetail
  • Ivy, ground
  • Lambkill
  • Lavender
  • Lemon
  • Lemon balm
  • Hawthorn
  • Heart leaf root
  • Heartsease
  • Honeysuckle
  • Indigo, wild
  • Lily-of-the-valley
  • Linden
  • Lobelia
  • Mistletoe
  • Motherwort
  • Moss, Irish
  • Mullein
  • Oat
  • Olive
  • Onion
  • Orange
  • Parsley
  • Peppermint
  • Plantain
  • Pleurisy root
  • Pokeroot
  • Primrose, evening
  • Psyllium
  • Radish, black
  • Red root
  • Rose hips
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • St. John’s wort
  • Skullcap
  • Stoneroot
  • Starwberry, wild
  • Sunflower
  • Valerian
  • Vervain
  • Willow, black, American
  • Yarrow
  • Yellow dock

Back to Top

Recommendations

Diet should be high in fiber. Oat bran is a good source; also add the following to the diet: almonds, brewer’s yeast, grains, raw goat’s milk, and goat’s milk products, and sesame seeds.

Minimize vitamin D intake; do not obtain vitamin D from dairy products (they are high in fat). Avoid homogenized products, they currently contain the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which damages the arteries and leads to arteriosclerosis.

Refrain from alcohol use. Avoid cod liver oil. Coffee, colas, tobacco, and other stimulants should be avoided.

Barley water is helpful. Boil 1 cup of barley in 6 pints of water for 3 hrs. Sip barley water all day long.

Do not eat red meat, highly spiced foods, sugars, or white flour. Sensible, moderate exercise and a proper diet with nutritional supplements can prevent arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries and myocardial infarction.
Back to Top

Suggestions

Drink steam-distilled water only. Consult the doctor.
Hawthorn flower tea:
Pour 1 cup of hot water over 1 heaping tsp. of hawthorn flowers, let steep for 15 minutes, then strain.
In the morning or after breakfast, drink 1 cup of tea in sips, and drink a like amount before going to bed. The evening cup of tea also helps you to go to sleep and promotes nighttime regeneration. Sweeten the evening tea with 1 tsp. of honey (no sweetening for diabetics).
Back to Top

Bibliography

Buy It! Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994

Buy It! The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

Buy It! Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

Buy It! The Old Herb Doctor, by Joseph E. Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1984, sixth printing 1994.

Buy It! Earl Mindell’s Herb Bible, by Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

Buy It! Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Buy It!The Magic of Herbs, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)

Buy It! The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, by Dr. H.C.A. Vogel; Keats Publishing, Inc., 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991

Buy It! The Healing Plants, by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992

Buy It! Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

Buy It! The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Buy It! The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.

Buy It! Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements, by James F. Balch, M.D. and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C., Avery Publishing Group, Inc., Garden City Park, NY

Back to Top

Share