Safety of Mixing Hawthorn With Heart-Failure Meds Questioned

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Safety of Mixing Hawthorn With Heart-Failure Meds Questioned

Zick SM, Gillespie B, Aaronson KD. The effect of Crataegus oxycantha special extract WS 1442 on clinical progression in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail 2008; 10:587-593.

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1388-9842(08)00185-2

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Eur J Heart Fail. 2008 Jun;10(6):587-93. Epub 2008 May 19.

The effect of Crataegus oxycantha special extract WS 1442 on clinical progression in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of heart failure.

Zick SM, Gillespie B, Aaronson KD.

Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Michigan Integrative Medicine Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.

AIM: To examine whether hawthorn (Crataegus Special Extract WS 1442 {CSE}) inhibits progression in heart failure (HF) patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from the HERB CHF study in which patients with mild to moderate HF were randomised to either CSE 900 mg or placebo for 6 months. The primary outcome was time to progression of HF (HF death, hospitalisation, or sustained increase in diuretics) as assessed by log-rank tests and by Cox modelling. RESULTS: Progression of HF occurred in 46.6% of the CSE and 43.3% of the placebo groups (OR 1.14, 95% CI=0.56, 2.35: p=0.86). Patients receiving CSE were 3.9 times (95% CI=1.1-13.7: p=0.035) more likely to experience HF progression at baseline. In adjusted analysis, the risk of having early HF progression in the CSE group increased to 6.4 (95% CI=1.5, 26.5: p=0.011). In patients with LVEF=35%, those taking CSE were at significantly greater risk (3.2, 95% CI=1.3, 8.3: p=0.02) than the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: CSE does not reduce heart failure progression in patients who have HF. CSE appears to increase the early risk of HF progression.

PMID: 18490196

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see also:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/576131