Natural Heart Care

The Mayo Clinic is known for quality health care and being in the forefront of research however when it comes to research review they're results not so forefront(y)! While the major publications (CNN,Reuters, US News and World Report, WebMD) find the review (based on a search of PubMed and MEDLINE databases, for literature on herbal supplements published between 1966 and 2008. Search terms included cardiovascular agents, complementary therapies, herb–drug interactions, and cardiovascular disease interactions) news worthy. We think their conclusions are very unnews worthy:

The authors encourage physicians to ask patients about concomitant use of herbal therapies, in particular among patients who are taking cardiovascular medications with narrow therapeutic windows such as digoxin and warfarin. Increases in research, which provides controlled clinical evaluations of herbal therapies and improvements in regulation and oversight of such therapies, are warranted. (Use of Herbal Products)

That reads more like a sticker on your drugstore medication than a careful well reasoned progressive scientific analysis.

Mayo's "Lean Enterprise Institute" which speaks of being "at the pinnacle of patient care, leadership keeps looking for ways to improve — and now they’re looking to lean." (PDF) We're all working with leaner resources and as patients will be making choices based on less income. What we don't need is for the best to do leaner research.

St. John's Wort is used to treat depression as a natural substitute to prescription drugs. As more and more people lose their jobs and health insurance natural and lower costs remedies seem more likely to be sought out.

"The "focus of cardiovascular research at Mayo is congestive heart failure. One of the questions that we've been dealing with is: What does the most dangerous snake in South America have to do with human heart failure? The answer is that the green mamba snake of South America and the human heart both produce very potent peptides that regulate heart and kidney function." Robert Simari, and I'm the chair of the cardiovascular research division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota." (ABC News)

Natural remedies aren't unfounded in their claims for healthy results. The argument has to be what's best and affordable for those with and without the financial wherewithal to pay for the best treatment for the money. That's what real lean leadership should, in our opinion (though that should go without saying), be. What are the medical costs for such short cuts.

"Mayo Study Shows Stroke Incidence Related to Angioplasty Remains Steady over Past 15 Years - Research results 'somewhat surprising' because patients are older, have more complicated disease "Eighty-four patients, or three or four in 1,000 patients, had a stroke or a TIA, and 23 percent of those were mini-strokes, according to senior author Rajiv Gulati, M.D., Ph.D."

While such results for eighty-four patients is very good. We applaud this type of research from MAYO but for the suffering settling is not an option and any, especially natural or low cost, alternative would be desired. Scientific research is wonderful and we support it but it's not the be all and end all in every case or there would never be any side effects.

We do agree with MAYO's review conclusions. Before starting or ending any natural medicines or treatments please, please, please speak to your physician. More importantly try to find a physician who is knowledgeable enough about such treatments who can adequately address your condition and concerns. In our area there are plenty to choose from.