MedWire News: Hawthorn extract may help improve symptoms in heart failure patients, a review suggests.
However, heart experts warn that further, more in-depth studies are needed before hawthorn extract can be recommended as a 'safe and effective' treatment for patients with heart failure.
As previous studies have suggested that hawthorn extract may have heart-health benefits, Dr Max Pittler, from the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, UK, and colleagues reviewed the results of 10 published studies that assessed the use of the herbal remedy in patients with heart failure.
They found that, compared with patients taking a dummy supplement, those taking hawthorn extract had better exercise tolerance and less shortness of breath and fatigue.
Furthermore, hawthorn extract appeared to boost the strength of heart contractions, increase blood flow through the arteries and reduce irregular heart beats in patients taking the supplement.
Hawthorn extract side effects appeared to be "infrequent, mild and transient", and included nausea, dizziness and heart and gastrointestinal complaints, say the researchers.
"These results suggest that there is a significant benefit in symptom control and physiological outcomes from hawthorn extract as an adjunctive [additional] treatment for chronic heart failure," the researchers conclude in The Cochrane Library.
However, the team stresses that further research is needed into the benefits and risks of hawthorn extract, as few heart patients in the reviewed studies were taking conventional drugs alongside the herbal supplement.
Commenting on the research, Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "It is far too soon to conclude that patients with heart failure should start taking hawthorn supplements as there is not enough evidence to show the benefits outweigh the risks.
"To date, the limited evidence we have on this suggests hawthorn supplements can interfere with some prescription medicines for heart disease. People with heart failure should seek advice from their doctor or pharmacist before taking the extract."