Successful Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure (CCF)

Congestive heart failure (CCF), also known as congestive heart failure, is a medical condition in which the heart is unable to pump oxygenated blood to the body with its normal efficiency. Several conditions may be responsible for causing CCF and include coronary artery disease, persistent high blood pressure, heart valve disease, heart muscle disease, and long-term alcohol or drug abuse. CCF may not initially cause any symptoms; however, if left untreated, it gradually becomes progressive over time and causes symptoms such as chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, fatigue, pain in the abdomen, swelling in the feet and abdomen, increased nighttime urination and decreased appetite.

Early diagnosis and management of this medical condition is important to prevent permanent and irreversible damage to the heart and increased mortality. It is very important that the affected person remains under the regular supervision and long-term medical care of an experienced cardiologist. In addition to modern conservative care, the institution of aggressive Ayurvedic treatment to treat both the cause and the effects of CCF can lead to very rewarding results in a condition where the usual long-term goal is to keep the patient with a minimum of symptoms and complications.

The concurrent use of Ayurvedic medicines is more indicated in patients with FCC who do not respond satisfactorily to modern medical treatment. Obesity, diabetes, longstanding high blood pressure, congenital heart defects, co-occurring medical conditions, poor lifestyle, poor medication adherence, and alcohol or drug abuse are all high risk factors that make for a patient to be refractory to standard conservative therapy.

Ayurvedic medicines are very effective in quickly controlling high blood pressure; this reduces the workload on the heart, which reduces heart muscle fatigue and compromised pumping action. Herbal medicines work very well to reduce atherosclerosis and blockage in narrowed coronary vessels to improve blood flow to the heart muscles. Damage to the heart muscles due to valvular insufficiency, heart muscle disease, or alcohol and drug abuse can be corrected using a specific herbal therapy for the heart. The efficiency of the work of the heart, both in systole (contractile stage) and in diastole (relaxation stage) can be improved using an appropriate herbo-mineral therapy.

Depending on the severity of the symptoms and the extent of existing heart damage, the dose and duration of herbal treatment may vary. Therefore, patients may need treatment for periods ranging from a few months to a few years. With regular treatment, affected people notice a clear improvement in symptoms such as swelling of the lower extremities and abdomen, shortness of breath, fatigue and reduced appetite. On a more objective level, tests such as a chest X-ray and a two-dimensional ultrasound test reveal an improvement in parameters such as reduction in the size of the enlarged heart chambers, greater valve efficiency, better ejection fraction of the heart, reduced load in the lungs and resolution of swelling in and around the layers that cover the heart (pericardium).

Depending on the residual symptoms and the general medical condition of the patient, the treating physician should decide whether Ayurvedic medications can be gradually reduced and discontinued entirely, or whether some medications need to be continued. However, it is prudent to continue with at least some modern drugs. The patient can continue to be seen by a modern cardiologist so that the condition can be monitored, with only a few essential drugs being continued long term.

Ayurvedic herbal treatment can be judiciously used to treat refractory patients having CCF. Concurrent Ayurvedic treatment can dramatically improve the overall long-term treatment outlook for FCC and significantly reduce mortality resulting from this condition.