By Mitchell A. Fleisher, M.D., D.Ht., D.A.B.F.M
As a holistic family physician specializing in integrative CAM (Complementary Alternative Medicine), I am always pleased to discover an effective therapeutic formula that integrates the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the best of modern nutritional science and quality control manufacturing.
My recent experience with a new, advanced herbal heart support formula began after a thorough review of clinical research conducted by the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, in cooperation with the cardiovascular departments of several major universities and heart disease research institutes over several years. My research revealed that the new formula supported significant improvement in a wide range of cardiovascular disorders, including organic cardiomyopathies due to coronary artery disease, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), hypertensive heart disease and myocarditis (toxin-induced, infectious or idiopathic, i.e., of unknown causes).
The extensive series of clinical studies indicates beneficial therapeutic effects in such symptoms as angina (chest pain), arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm), dyspnea (shortness of breath), dizziness, reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, increased erythrocyte (red blood cell) SOD antioxidant capacity, as well as improvements and/or normalization of blood viscosity and cardiac microcirculation, ECG (electrocardiogram) recordings and rheological (blood flow pattern) and hemodynamic parameters in myocardial ischemia and congestive heart failure
Clinical Case Reports
After reviewing the research on the new heart support formula I carefully began to introduce its use in my clinical practice, where I’ve found the formula be remarkably effective for the support and amelioration of cardiovascular disorders, especially coronary insufficiency, angina pectoris, arrhythmias, hypertension and congestive heart failure.
Case History 1
One of my long time patients is an elderly, southern gentleman who literally “lives for golf.” He has struggled with difficulty to control his brittle, adult onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and was increasingly experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath that were limiting his physical activities, especially his ability to play golf. He has been treated with I.V. and oral chelation therapy for his relatively severe coronary artery disease, recurrent angina pectoris and peripheral vascular disease. Additionally, the patient was already receiving maximum doses of nitrate, in addition to a beta-blocker, a calcium channel blocker and diuretic medications per his cardiologist. Given the current situation, increasing his medications was not a viable therapeutic option.
I placed the patient on two tablets of Vital Cell twice daily to gauge his initial response, and then increased his intake to three tablets, twice daily. There was a modest improvement in the number and severity of his angina episodes after one month, at which point I decided it was best to augment his therapy by having him take the heart support formula, four capsules three times daily.
Gradually, over a course of six weeks his anginal chest pains, exertional and resting dyspnea, ischemia-induced (oxygen deprived) heart failure and intermittent claudication (calf pains on walking due to poor circulation) improved to the point that he no longer required intermittent sprays of sublingual (under the tongue) nitroglycerin to control his heart pains. He was also able to reduce his dosage of diuretic medications so that he wasn’t having to get up frequently to urinate. His overall stamina increased such that he was able to enjoy his favorite sport once again, of course, with the loving assistance of his wife, caddy and golf cart. He also needed fewer injections of regular insulin to control his blood sugar levels, due to improved metabolic functioning. Not too shabby for an eighty-two-year old ‘athlete’ in his condition!
His overall stamina increased such that he was able to enjoy his favorite sport once again, of course, with the loving assistance of his wife, caddy and golf cart. He also needed fewer injections of regular insulin to control his blood sugar levels, due to improved metabolic functioning.
Case History 2
A sixty-four-year old female patient with chronic atrial fibrillation (irregularly irregular heart rhythm), was being treated with digoxin, atenolol, warfarin and aspirin by her internist. Despite being compliant with her conventional medications, when the patient came to my clinic she was complaining of persistent episodes of rapid palpitations that left her feeling winded, dizzy, anxious and exhausted, with achiness in her chest. She was initially begun on a regimen of Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol), L-taurine, chelated magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentanoic acid and dosahexanoic acids) and nattokinase to help slow the rapid heart rate, decrease excitability of the heart cells, improve cellular energy efficiency and prevent abnormal blood clotting.
After six weeks there was a minimal slowing in the chronic atrial fibrillation and she felt a little bit more energetic, but there was clearly room for improvement. She then began taking four capsules of the heart support formula three times daily. Within three weeks, there was a significant reduction in her episodes of rapid, irregular heart rhythm, providing relief of her periodic shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness and anxiety. Moreover, her puffiness of the feet and ankles (pedal edema due to inadequate cardiac function and poor circulation) markedly improved to the point that she discontinued taking her daily ‘water pill’ (furosemide), prescribed by her internist to use as needed for water retention.
After three months of taking the heart support formula, she reported that her heart rhythm was now very well controlled; there were basically no further episodes of shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness and anxiousness; her overall energy and stamina were greatly improved, and she generally felt better. She also told me delightedly that her chronically cold feet had finally warmed up.
Case History 3
Several of my patients who have received conventional treatment for hypertension (high blood pressure) and/or dyslipidemia (abnormal blood lipid levels) have shown promising responses to the heart support formula. A fifty-four-year old male chemical engineer with moderately severe hypertension required triple drug therapy with a calcium channel blocker, angiotensin inhibitor, and diuretic medications. Despite his conventional treatment, his blood pressure still was not well-controlled, especially during times of high stress, which amounted to most of his life. The addition of Coenzyme Q10 and chelated magnesium ameliorated his muscular tension and gave him more energy, though his blood pressure did not change to any significant degree.
I prescribed three capsules of the heart support formula twice daily. On his follow-up visit eight weeks later, his blood pressure had dropped by about twenty points, systolic, and fifteen points, diastolic. The dosage of the heart support formula was increased to three capsules, three times daily, and a subsequent follow-up visit three months later revealed that his blood pressure was finally within the normal range; that is averaging 130/80. After six months of integrative therapy, his blood pressure remained within normal limits, even though he had independently weaned himself off the calcium channel blocker medication, which he complained undermined his sex life by causing erectile insufficiency, a common side effect of many anti-hypertensive medicines.
After six months of integrative therapy, his blood pressure remained within normal limits, even though he had independently weaned himself off the calcium channel blocker medication, which he complained undermined his sex life by causing erectile insufficiency, a common side effect of many anti-hypertensive medicines.
Side Effects of Cholesterol-Lowering Agents
I have encountered many patients over the years who do not tolerate conventional cholesterol lowering medicines, particularly statins, a class of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors that work by blocking the primary enzyme involved in the manufacture of cholesterol in the body. Commonly reported adverse effects from statins can include dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, insomnia, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, myalgias (muscular pain), muscle inflammation (myositis) and/or muscle degeneration (rhabdomyolysis) and/or fatigue that can become extreme. These problematic adverse reactions are not limited to pharmaceutical drugs, but may also occur, although far less frequently, in supplements containing red yeast rice extract. Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) is a natural source of the mevacolins or statins, which lower cholesterol by the same mechanism of action as the conventional drugs.
I have found that the heart support formula is a very effective and safer approach to controlling blood lipids, esp. when used in conjunction with Lipid Balance (from Progressive Labs, 800-527-9512, order #7876), a carefully designed nutraceutical formulation which not only lowers ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and raises ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, but also reduces and protects against vascular (blood vessel) inflammation, a primary, underlying cause of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The usual dosage of both the heart support formula and Lipid Balance is two capsules, three times daily or three capsules twice daily.
Case History 4
A 58-year-old female patient with a family history of elevated cholesterol came to me with a total cholesterol of over 300, LDL cholesterol over 200, and HDL cholesterol below 30 – essentially a picture of a heart attack in the making. She could not tolerate any of the conventional cholesterol-lowering medicines, not even supplements containing red yeast rice extract, without becoming deathly ill within a week or so of taking them. I switched her to a combination of the heart support formula and Lipid Balance, at the aforementioned standard dosages. After twelve weeks of therapy, her blood lipid levels were within a normal and acceptable range. More impressively, her history of cardiovascular inflammation showed marked improvement as measured by a significant reduction in her chronically elevated CRP-cardiac (C Reactive Protein). Needless to say, both she and I were quite happy with the results, and especially so, because she felt well on this nutraceutical regimen.
Summary
The preponderance of available scientific and clinical evidence suggests that daily use of the heart support formula can be an excellent approach to those hoping to prevent heart and blood vessel problems before they occur. The preventive dosage is three to six capsules daily. This is particularly true for anyone with a family history of cardiovascular disease. In modern terms, a “gram of prevention is worth a kilo of cure.”
About the Author: Dr. Mitch Fleisher serves as a professional, integrative medicine consultant to several major health care institutions and corporations, as an organizer and participant in integrative medicine clinical research. He is also editorial advisor for several published texts on homeopathy and nutritional therapy and contributes articles on homeopathic medicine, nutritional therapy, chelation therapy and integrative, complementary alternative medicine to medical journals and popular magazines. Dr. Fleisher is a principal medical consultant for Tango Advanced Nutrition and the physician-author of the just released, Integrative CAM e-portal informational website series entitled “Alternative DrMCare Natural Medical Self-Care Protocols”,www.alternativedrmcare.com.
