In the 21st century researchers have found that hawthorn is useful for congestive heart failure. This disorder, in which a weakened heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, often follows other cardiac conditions (such as coronary artery disease, which blocks blood flow to the heart) and can cause fatigue, wheezing and edema, in which the lower body, particularly the legs, swell with excess fluid that cannot circulate as it should.
Hawthorn helps heart failure by increasing the organ's pumping power and by counteracting arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats. The herb also encourages blood vessels -- including those that feed the heart itself -- to dilate, bringing more life-giving oxygen to cardiac tissues and easing the pain and pressure associated with angina.
Hawthorn's gentle but effective action has been validated by a number of studies. In one German investigation 364 people with congestive heart failure received standard drug therapy while another 588 were given hawthorn extract either by itself or along with conventional medicines. After two years the folks in the hawthorn group showed greater improvement, including more energy, fewer palpitations and freer breathing. This isn't the only study in which hawthorn has shown itself useful; an analysis of eight similar trials tallied up similar results, and with few side effects (American Journal of Medicine 6/03).
