Herbs for Angina

Angina is a form of heart disease that causes moderate to severe chest pain. Sometimes the pain develops after some physical exertion and sometimes it happens when a person is at rest depending on which type of angina the person has. There are two forms of angina; stable and unstable.

If you suffer from angina it's advised that you speak to your health care provider before embarking on any of these herbal treatments.

Hawthorn (Crataegus) has been shown to improve heart function by opening up the coronary arteries, which improves blood supply and oxygen to the heart. It also works well to decrease blood cholesterol. This is one herb that can be very powerful as a heart medicine so discuss its use with your doctor first.

Angelica (Angelica archangelica) acts as a calcium channel blocker. Other herbs that contain the same compounds as angelica are carrots, fennel, parsley and parsnips. A healthy juice drink of these herbs would be good for the heart.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) has a cholesterol lowering effect and is also a vasodilator that opens the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. The compound found in bilberry is anthocyannis and helps prevent the formation of blood clots.
Other berries that contain the same compounds are blackberries, black chokeberries, boysenberries, black currants, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, red grapes and red raspberries. Just think of the fruit smoothies you could make with those delicious berries.

Garlic (Allium sativum) and Onion (A. cepa) work by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure plus makes a tasty spice when used in cooking.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an antioxidant and offers protection to the blood vessels that are damaged by cholesterol. Ginger is also known to boost the strength of the heart muscle like the medication digitalis.

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) dilates coronary arteries to increase blood flow and helps stabilize heart rhythm.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.

Willow (Salix) is nature's aspirin and helps prevent blood clots from forming. It is also shown to protect against colon cancer. If you are allergic to aspirin you wouldn't want to take willow bark.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) lowers cholesterol and blood pressure because it is rich in gamma-linolenic acid and also helps prevent blood clots. Primrose should be taken with Flaxseed because it is rich in alpha-linolenic acid.

To prevent many heart ailments you need to lower your cholesterol, eat a healthy diet rich in antioxidants and get plenty of exercise. These herbs are not a cure-all but may help in your overall plan to be heart healthy.