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Heart disease has remained the #1 cause of death in the U.S. for over 100 years, revealing the failure of the current medical model to move the needle on this epidemic.1
The current medical standard of care for heart disease and heart failure relies heavily on pharmaceuticals as the first line of therapy. However, commonly used drugs like statins have been shown to potentially weaken heart muscle strength. In one study, statin use was associated with a significant reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction compared to non-statin users.2 Other research has revealed over 300 adverse health effects associated with statin drugs, including muscle damage, diabetes, cognitive impairment and more.3
This reveals serious deficiencies and risks with our current drug-based medical paradigm for managing heart health. Safer, more affordable and accessible options are desperately needed.
In their latest scientific review on complementary and alternative medicine approaches for heart failure, titled "Complementary and Alternative Medicines in the Management of Heart Failure,"4 the American Heart Association (AHA) noted some potential benefit for natural agents like fish oil, CoQ10, vitamins, yoga, and tai chi as adjunctive therapies, calling for more research in this area.
Specifically, the AHA stated: "Omega-3 PUFAs (fish oil) have the strongest evidence among CAM agents for clinical benefit in patients with HF and can safely be used in moderation," and "Clinical data do not support routine thiamine supplementation in the absence of deficiency in patients with HF." The AHA also noted: "Yoga and tai chi are safe and well-tolerated adjunctive therapies for patients with HF." To view the Greenmedinfo.com databases on alternative modalities, consult the Therapeutic Actions index, which includes over 400 studies on the potential benefit of yoga on 168 conditions, and 188 studies on the potential benefit of tai chi on 77 conditions." (please insert these and links)
It is notable that the AHA receives significant funding from pharmaceutical and medical device companies, which comprised 3.8% of their $880 million in total revenue in 2021-2022.5 Major contributors included Amgen, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Edwards Lifesciences, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Verily (Google Life Sciences) among others.5 This level of industry funding gives context to AHA's positive findings on select CAM therapies. One the one hand, they may reflect how in the absence of pharmaceutical solutions the conventional, pharmaceutically-driven cardiovascular care industry is moving towards acknowledging complementary and integrative strategies. It also may explain how given the hundreds of compelling natural approaches that have been researched, the AHA only acknowledges a handful they consider worthy of their perhaps overly cautious recommendations. Also, with growing awareness that low-dose aspirin and statin drugs may be causing heart problems, despite marketing propaganda to the contrary, this latest announcement could be considered a concession if not a diversion from the growing problem that the AHA's standard of care may be contributing to the intractable nature of the growing cardiovascular disease burden in the US and not the opposite as is its mission.
All that said, the AHA's recent review highlighting the potential of natural products and lifestyle therapies represents an important step towards expanding prevention and treatment options beyond risky pharmaceuticals. Perhaps this will help open the door wider to balanced, integrative protocols that genuinely serve public health. Our lives depend on it.
Learn more about natural approaches for heart failure here.
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Reference
1. Benjamin EJ, Muntner P, Bittencourt MS. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2022 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2022 Feb 22;145(8):e153-639.
2. Silver MA, Langsjoen PH, Szabo S, Zierhut W. Statin therapy is associated with lower myocardial function as measured by strain imaging in patients with coronary artery disease. Ann Med. 2018;50(6):478-483.
3. Statin Effects Study. GreenMedInfo Research Group. https://greenmedinfo.
4. Chow SL, Bozkurt B, Baker WL, Bleske BE, Breathett K, Fonarow GC, Greenberg B, Khazanie P, Leclerc J, Morris AA, Reza N, Yancy CW. Complementary and alternative medicines in the management of heart failure. Circulation. 2023;147:e4-e30
5. American Heart Association Pharma Funding Disclosure. https://www.heart.
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