Hawthorn is used in Europe, particularly in Germany, for patients with deteriorating heart function. It may also be helpful for angina, arteriosclerosis, and some mild types of arrhythmia. If your health care provider has advised you to try hawthorn, you probably have a very mild form of heart disease, and studies indicate that hawthorn may help you manage your condition.

Plant Description

Hawthorn is a common thorny shrub that grows up to five feet tall on hillsides and in sunny wooded areas throughout the world. In May its flowers bloom, but although hawthorn is in the same botanical family as roses, the flowers are not fragrant. They grow in small clusters, and are white, red, or pink. Small berries, called haws, sprout after the flowers. They are usually red when ripe, but they may also be black. Hawthorn leaves are shiny and grow in a variety of shapes and sizes.

What's It Made Of?

Hawthorn medicines start with the leaves, the berries, and sometimes, the flowers (only the white flowers are medicinal). These parts are dried and then made into powder. The powder is put into capsules, or added to alcohol or glycerite (a sweet, non-alcohol liquid), along with water, so you can take it in a liquid form. In liquid forms of botanicals, the alcohol and water create a more digestible form.

Available Forms

Hawthorn comes in capsules, tinctures, standardized fluid extracts, or solid extracts. You can also make a bitter-tasting tea from dried cut hawthorn leaves, flowers, and berries.

How to Take It

Look for standardized hawthorn products. Look for a label that says the product is standardized to contain either 4 to 20 mg flavonoids/30 to 160 mg oligomeric procyanidins, or 1.8 percent vitexin rhamnoside/10 percent procyanidins.

If you are taking hawthorn for heart failure or angina, you will need to take it for at least six weeks, three times a day, before you notice an effect.

Precautions

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) gives hawthorn a class 1 safety rating, which indicates that it is a very safe herb with a wide dosage range. Even so, it is always wise to follow recommended dosage. If you are pregnant, do not use hawthorn.

It is extremely important for you to note any changes you feel while you are taking hawthorn. More pain, more angina attacks, more exhaustion while walking or exercising—these are all good reasons to stop taking hawthorn and see your health care provider right away. Even if you don't experience any of these symptoms, see your health care provider if your condition hasn't improved after six weeks of hawthorn treatment. Your progress should be monitored even if you do feel better, so see your health care provider in either case.

Possible Interactions

Hawthorn can increase the effects of certain heart medications, such as digitalis and digoxin. Do not use hawthorn if you are taking any of these medications.

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