Articles

A review of more than 50 recent studies shows that hawthorn, a medicinal herb popular for centuries in Europe, can help improve cardiovascular function, and reduce blood pressure and irregular heartbeats. Today hawthorn is used primarily for various cardiovascular conditions. The cardiovascular effects are believed to be the result of positive inotropic activity, ability to increase the integrity of the blood vessel wall and improve coronary blood flow, and positive effects on oxygen utilization.

Hawthorn extract can increase blood flow to the heart muscle itself, helping to counteract one of the most common modern causes of death in industrial countries - heart attacks, due to lack of blood flow to the heart. In pharmacological tests on both animals and humans, hawthorn has been shown to improve the contractility of the heart muscle which can lead to a stronger pumping action of the heart, increase cardiac performance and output, lower the peripheral vascular resistance reducing the workload of the heart, steady the heartbeat anti - arrhythmic effect, as well as increasing the heart's tolerance to oxygen deficiency, such as might happen during stress or excitement, or in diseases where the arteries are partially blocked.

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