Natural Home Remedies for Heart Diseases

The heart is one of the five major organs of the body, the other being the brain, the liver, the lungs and the digestive system-any defect in or malfunctioning of which leads to serious complications. The major function of the heart is to pump the blood into the arteries and send the blood returning from the various organs with carbon dioxide to the lungs for purification.

Considering the amount of work that the heart does-it never stops till death-it is subject to few disorders. The main causes of heart disease are the diseases of the coronary arteries (which nourish the heart muscle), high blood pressure and syphilis. Acute rheumatism-a predominantly infantile disorder-is responsible for most cases of heart disease occurring between the ages of 5 to 45 years. Other causes of heart diseases are disorders like diphtheria, diseases of the thyroid gland and certain forms of chronic lung ailments. A small, but important group of heart diseases is due to the congenital abnormalities of the heart. In those disorders for example, the malformation of the valves or cavities in the valve developed in the mother’s womb, the only recourse is to heart surgery. Certain deficiency diseases like gross lack of vitamin B cause the condition known as beri-beri.

The tendency of the heart to adjust to changes in the mode of living of its owner, known as compensation, is one of the vital factors, which prolong life in spite of maladies to which this king of organs is susceptible. This adjustment sometimes enables a person to go through life without suspecting the disease, which invade the heart. It is a common fallacy to suppose that heart disease ends in sudden death. A man with a defective heat may live long, if he is careful. It is only when the heart muscle has become weakened due to some other illness, for example, diabetes, that the end may come suddenly. Another cause of sudden death by heart failure can be ascribed to the formation of a clot in the blood (thrombosis). Hardening of the arteries may lead to failure of the heart, but in most cases that is a gradual development.

Chief Ailments

The broad categories of heart ailments are:

(i) Those caused by inflammation of the muscle, the outer covering or the inner covering of the heart;

(ii) Hardening of the arteries and formation of a clot which may result in sudden interruption of the functioning of the heart;

(iii) Weakening of the muscle or degeneration of the organ because of advancing years;

(iv) Involvement of the heart as a corollary to rheumatism or syphilis; and

(v) Functional disorders like techycardia, bradicardia or hypertension and arrhythmia (lack of rhythm in the heart beat) and angina pectoris (pain in the chest, behind the sternum) and a sense of impending death.

As stated earlier, naturopathy is the only recourse in case of all bodily ailments. Heart diseases can be cured safely and in a better manner under this system of medicine. The only exception, it may be stated here, is congenital defects of the heart for which surgical interference is necessary after the “compensation” fails to relieve the condition.

Here we give the treatment that is to be under taken in angina pectoris. The same course of treatment would help other heart ailments too regardless of the technical name given by the doctors.
Angina pectoris is characterized by a sharp pain in the chest (behind the sternum), which leaves the victim breathless. There is a sense of impending doom. It is generally caused by the constriction of the main artery that leads into the heart, because of its hardening or deposition of fat in the insides. The pain radiates to the back, the shoulders and the arms, particularly the left arm. The attack may come on after a hearty meal, a sudden over exertion or intense grief or excitement.

Lest the reader confuse a gastric pain with angina, let us make it clear that the true pain of angina has a tendency to spread to the shoulders and the arms. There is a constriction in the chest and profuse sweating. True angina must be differentiated from false or pseudo-angina which is of a nervous origin.

Drugs taken to relieve angina only help to make the condition more chronic. Patients taking recourse to traditional methods of treatment would be seen carrying tablets of nitro-glycerine to relieve the pain. The drug may be taken in an emergency but the correct treatment for angina begins when it is aimed at building the general health level of the patient.

When an attack is on, the best thing is to apply hot towels over the heart region. That will relieve the constriction around the chest by dilating (through heat) the clogged artery, which finds it difficult to pass the required amount of blood through it to the heart.