Also indexed as: Atrial Fibrillation, Heart Arrhythmia,
Irregular Heartbeat, Sick Sinus Syndrome, Supraventricular Premature Beats, Ventricular
Premature Beats
When your heart skips, you may feel dizzy or anxious. Although an
irregular heartbeat is often harmless, it should be treated with care. According to research
or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful:
- Cut the caffeine
- Reduce the frequency of some arrhythmias by cutting back on coffee
and other caffeinated products
- Mix in some magnesium
- Under a doctor’s supervision, take daily supplements
containing 350 to 400 mg of this essential mineral for fewer episodes
- Check out potassium
- Ask your doctor if 1,000 mg a day of this essential mineral may
help treat your arrhythmia
- Don’t forget the fish oil
- Take capsules containing 2.4 grams of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty
acids every day to reduce the frequency of irregular heartbeats
- See a heart-health expert
- Visit a healthcare professional knowledgeable in cardiology to get
a thorough evaluation, and for supervision when using natural substances to treat cardiac
arrhythmia
These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace
the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full cardiac arrhythmia article
for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and
lifestyle changes that may be helpful.
About cardiac arrhythmia
Cardiac arrhythmia is a term that denotes a disturbance of the heart rhythm.
Cardiac arrhythmias can range in severity from entirely benign to immediately
life-threatening. If arrhythmia is suspected, a doctor should be consulted for confirmation.
In addition, the use of natural substances for arrhythmia should always be supervised by a
doctor.
Product ratings for cardiac
arrhythmia
What are the symptoms?
Most arrhythmia does not result in symptoms, but people may experience anxiety, lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, unusual
awareness of the heartbeat, and sensations of fluttering or pounding in the chest.
Medical options
Prescription medications used to treat irregular heart rhythm, include quinidine (Quinidex®, Quinaglute®),
procainamide (Pronestyl®), disopyramide (Norpace®),mexiletine (Mexitil®), amiodarone (Cordarone®, Pacerone®), verapamil (Calan®, Verelan®), acebutolol (Sectral®), sotalol (Betapace®), digoxin (Lanoxin®), and
propranolol (Inderal®).
Medical conditions that may cause arrhythmia, such as anemia, fever, heart failure, or electrolyte imbalance, are treated
accordingly. In some cases, a synchronized electrical shock (defibrillation) is applied to the
heart either externally or internally (from a previously implanted device that automatically
activates when a life-threatening arrhythmia is detected). When a normal rhythm cannot be
established by these methods, a pacemaker (an electronic device that controls the rhythm of
the heart) may be implanted surgically. A newer procedure called radiofrequency ablation may
be used to destroy small areas of the heart responsible for the arrhythmia.
Dietary changes that may be helpful
Excessive caffeine consumption has been
associated with arrhythmia in human studies. Although most people do not experience arrhythmia
as a result of caffeine consumption,1 some healthy people appear to be susceptible
to as little as one cup of
coffee.2
Allergic reactions to foods and
environmental chemicals have been reported to trigger arrhythmias.3 Consultation
with a physician may help to pinpoint these sensitivities.
Vitamins that may be helpful
A double-blind trial investigated the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on arrhythmic episodes in
people with congestive heart failure. Those
people taking 3.2 grams per day of magnesium chloride (equivalent to 384 mg per day of
elemental magnesium) had between 23% and 52% fewer occurrences of specific types of arrhythmia
during the six-week study, compared with those taking placebo.4 Lower serum
concentrations of magnesium were found to be associated with a higher incidence of arrhythmia
in a large population study.5 The anti-arrhythmic properties of magnesium appear to
be specific. For example, magnesium is clearly able to prevent a drug-induced arrhythmia
called torsade de pointes,6 but it does not appear to prevent atrial
fibrillation.7 A doctor should supervise any use of magnesium for cardiac
arrhythmia.
In a double-blind trial, people with a type of arrhythmia known as ventricular premature
complexes were supplemented for 16 weeks with either 15 ml (1 tbsp) per day of fish oil or a similar amount of safflower oil as placebo. Patients taking the fish oil
had a significantly reduced frequency of abnormal heartbeats compared with those receiving
placebo, and 44% of those receiving fish oil experienced at least a 70% reduction in the
frequency of abnormal beats.8 In a separate study, however, men given 20 ml (4 tsp)
of cod liver oil per day for six weeks,
beginning one week after a heart attack, had
the same frequency of irregular heart beats as did men given no supplemental oil.9
In a double-blind study, people who had a history of certain potentially life-threatening
arrhythmias—sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation—had an
increase in the recurrence rate of these arrhythmias when they took fish
oil.10 . Consequently, most people with a history of either of these arrhythmias
should not take fish oil. The findings from that study may not apply to people who have had
sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation as a direct result of a heart
attack or as a result of other reversible causes. Nevertheless, anyone who has had one of
these arrhythmias should consult a doctor before taking fish oil supplements.
Patients taking hydrochlorothiazide for high blood pressure had a significant reduction
in arrhythmias when supplemented with 1 gram twice per day of potassium hydrochloride
(supplying 1040 mg per day of elemental
potassium). Those results were not improved by adding 500 mg twice per day of magnesium hydroxide (supplying 500 mg per day of
elemental magnesium) to the potassium.11 Low serum concentrations of potassium were
found to be associated with a higher incidence of arrhythmia in a large population
study.12
Three cases have been reported in which ventricular premature beats disappeared after
supplementation with copper (4 mg per day in
the two cases for which amounts were reported).13 In one of these people,
supplementing with zinc made the arrhythmia
worse, confirming previous observations that excessive zinc intake may lead to copper
deficiency,14 which in turn may lead to arrhythmia.
Gross deficiency of dietary selenium may
cause many heart problems, including arrhythmia. Based on this finding, one author has
theorized that correction of low selenium status may improve many arrhythmias, even in the
absence of overt deficiency symptoms.15 Controlled research is needed to evaluate
this possibility.
One case of long-standing sick-sinus syndrome (another type of arrhythmia) was reported to
resolve upon supplementation with 800 IU per day of vitamin D prescribed for an unrelated condition.
However, it was not clear from that report whether the improvement was due to the vitamin
D.16 More research is needed.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
Refer to the individual supplement for information about any side effects or interactions.
Herbs that may be helpful
An animal study showed that an extract of
hawthorn significantly reduced the number of experimentally induced
arrhythmias.17 Although the use of hawthorn for arrhythmia in humans has not been
studied scientifically, it traditionally has been used for this purpose.18
An active constituent in corydalis,
dl-tetrahydropalmatine (dl-THP), may exert an anti-arrhythmic action on the heart. This action
was observed in a preliminary trial with 33 patients suffering from a specific type of
arrhythmia called supraventricular premature beat or SVPB.19 Each patient took 300
to 600 mg of dl-THP per day in tablet form, and the dl-THP was found to be significantly more
effective than placebo in reducing arrhythmia.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
Refer to the individual herb for information about any side effects or interactions.
References:1. Donnerstein RL, Zhu D, Samson R, et al. Acute effects of caffeine
ingestion on signal-averaged electrocardiograms. Am Heart J 1998;136:643–6.
2. Dobmeyer DJ, Stine RA, Leier CV, et al. The arrhythmogenic effects of
caffeine in human beings. N Engl J Med 1983;308:814–6.
3. Rea WJ. Environmentally triggered cardiac disease. Ann
Allergy 1978;40:243–51.
4. Bashir Y, Sneddon JF, Staunton A, et al. Effects of long-term oral
magnesium chloride replacement in congestive heart failure secondary to coronary artery
disease. Am J Cardiol 1993;72:1156–62.
5. Tsuji H, Venditti FJ, Evans JC, et al. The associations of levels of
serum potassium and magnesium with ventricular premature complexes (the Framingham Heart
Study). Am J Cardiol 1994;74:232–5.
6. Tzivoni D, Keren A. Suppression of ventricular arrhythmias by
magnesium. Am J Cardiol 1990;65:1397–9 [review].
7. Brugada P. Magnesium: an antiarrhythmic drug, but only against very
specific arrhythmias. Eur Heart J 2000;21:1116 [review].
8. Sellmayer A, Witzgall H, Lorenz RL, Weber PC. Effects of dietary fish
oil on ventricular premature complexes. Am J Cardiol 1995;76:974–7.
9. Hardarson T, Kristinsson A, Skuladottir G, et al. Cod liver oil does
not reduce ventricular extrasystoles after myocardial infarction. J Intern Med
1989;236:33–7.
10. Raitt MH, Connor WE, Morris C, et al. Fish oil supplementation and
risk of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation in patients with implantable
defibrillators. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2005;293:2884–91
11. Lumme JA, Jounela AJ. The effect of potassium and potassium plus
magnesium supplementation on ventricular extrasystoles in mild hypertensives treated with
hydrochlorothiazide. Int J Cardiol 1989;25:93–8.
12. Tsuji H, Venditti FJ, Evans JC, et al. The associations of levels of
serum potassium and magnesium with ventricular premature complexes (the Framingham Heart
Study). Am J Cardiol 1994;74:232–5.
13. Spencer JC. Direct relationship between the body’s copper/zinc
ratio, ventricular premature beats and sudden cardiac death. Am J Clin Nutr
1979;32:1184–5 [letter].
14. Porter KG, McMaster D, Elmes ME, Love AH. Anaemia and low
serum-copper during zinc therapy. Lancet 1977;2:774 [letter].
15. Lehr D. A possible beneficial effect of selenium administration in
antiarrhythmic therapy. J Am Coll Nutr 1994;13:496–8.
16. Kessel L. Sick sinus syndrome cured by...vitamin D?
Geriatrics 1990;45(8):83–5.
17. Al Makdessi S, Sweidan H, Dietz K, Jacob R. Protective effect of
Crataegus oxycantha against reperfusion arrhythmias after global no-flow ischemia in the rat
heart. Basic Res Cardiol 1999;94:71–7.
18. Ellingwood F. American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and
Pharmacognosy. Sandy, OR: Eclectic, 1919, 217–20.
19. Xiaolin N, Zhenhua H, Xin M, et al. Clinical and experimental study
of dl-tetrahydropalmatine effect in the treatment of supraventricular arrhythmia. J
Xi’An Med Univ 1998;10:150–3.