10 Supplements to Strengthen the Heart

One morning in July 2008 my wife Susan woke up utterly without energy. We went to a cardiologist who told her that her heart’s mitral valve had given way and needed surgery to repair it. We called our friend, the world famous nutritional physician Dr. Jonathan Wright in Seattle, to ask about heart supplements, and he recommended this list. Note that these are not merely for patients with heart trouble, but for everybody with a heart.

By July 2012 Susan’s repaired mitral valve had given out and she needed another surgery to replace the valve. When she was in the prep room her surgeon came in and said, “We are probably going to have to replace her mitral valve with a porcine [pig] valve. [Solemnly] There are only two problems with that. First, every time it rains she’ll want to go outside and wallow in the mud. Second, if you ever lose her in a corn field, you’ll never get her back.”

Susan’s first surgery was miserable with a long (five day) stay in ICU and a long recovery with plenty of heart arrhythmia trouble. Before her second surgery she had four “magnesium push” IVs. Magnesium is the most important mineral in heart function, so low magnesium means a struggling heart. This is about 10 or 15 cc of magnesium (magnesium sulfate, I believe) pushed in until the patient begins to flush, then backed off until flushing subsides, and so on until the injection is complete. Susan took four of these before surgery. The large dosage given rapidly by IV is necessary to counteract extreme magnesium deficiency and to insure adequate intracellular magnesium. After her second surgery, Susan was out of the hospital in 3-1/2 days, less time than she had spent in ICU with the first surgery.

Some of these supplement dosages are indeed large (but safe) and are used in serious situations; "routine, everyday" care requires less of many of them, but not complete omission.

To find a physician near you skilled and knowledgable about this approach to health care, please visit acam.org or naturopathic.org.

10 Supplements to strengthen the heart

  1. Co-Enzyme Q10 (as ubiquinol), 100-300 milligrams daily
  2. Magnesium (citrate, glycinate), 300-500 milligrams daily
  3. L-carnitine, 500 milligrams, 2-3x daily
  4. Ribose, 5 grams, 1-3x daily
  5. Taurine, 1-3 grams daily
  6. L-arginine or L-citrulline, 3-9 grams daily
  7. Thiamine (Vitamin B1), 100 milligrams daily
  8. Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil), 1-3 teaspoonfuls daily
  9. Hawthorne solid extract, 1/4 teaspoonful 1-2x daily
  10. Terminalia arjuna, 500 milligrams 2-3x daily

How these work

  • CoQ10: supports mitocondrial energy production in heart (and other) muscle cells.
  • Magnesium: Dilates blood vessels, improving circulation. Necessary for  production of ATP—the "energy molecule." Helps stabilize heart beat rhythm. Can also use magnesium oil to rub in over your heart daily. It’s not really an oil, that’s just the name of it.
  • L-carnitine: enables heart cells to use fatty acids for energy in addition to blood sugar.
  • Taurine: stabilizes electrical conduction in the heart (and nervous  system).
  • Ribose: Improves energy production in heart muscle. Use in tea or coffee instead of table sugar.   
  • L-arginine and L-citrulline: provide precusors of nitric oxide which dilates blood vessels and improves circulation.
  • Thiamine: If very low, heart failure occurs.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids: Anti-inflammatory, source of energy.
  • Hawthorne: research-proven botanical to improve heart function.
  • Terminalia: research-proven botanical to improve heart function.

These can be ordered from any supplement supplier or from:

Tahoma Clinic Dispensary
6839 Fort Dent Way #134
Tukwila, Washington 98188
(206) 812-9988


WARNING & DISCLAIMER: By publishing this material, neither The Moneychanger nor the author/interviewee recommends or endorses any specific treatment or therapy for any physical condition or disease. Neither The Moneychanger nor the author/interviewee guarantees or warrants any results from any treatment discussed, nor assumes any express or implied liability for any use to which the reader puts this information. By this interview, the interviewee does not prescribe any treatment whatsoever for anyone who is not his patient. All the information here is offered for information purposes only, subject to the reader’s own research, prudence, and judgment.