Ingredients:

Lily of the Valley 300 mg
Hawthorne 5 mg
Cerus 300 mg
Motherwort 75 mg
Lemon Balm 5 mg

CardiaCare
100ml Bottle


Available only from a physician. To be used only under the supervision of a physician. (Your physician can order some for you at 800-420-5801).

CardiaCare contains fast-acting and slow-acting herbs. People can often notice an effect right away (15 minutes - 30 minutes) in some symptoms like palpitations and jitteriness. But they can also notice more long-term effects in the actual function of the heart, say on an echocardiogram. There won't be a difference in the echocardiogram in one day, but there may be a difference in two months.

CardiaCare appears to be very helpful in a variety of heart conditions, and is especially suited for those patients receiving WT3 therapy.

CardiaCare has shown an ability to quickly calm an increased pulse rate and/or palpitations which may occasionally accompany WT3 therapy (Friedman). It can also calm the nervousness and anxiety that can sometimes be caused by the WT3 protocol. Wilson's T3 therapy involves the use of T3, a potent thyroid hormone. Most people tolerate T3 therapy quite well. There is a chance, however, of cardiovascular side effects such as increased heart rate, increased awareness of the heart beat, and palpitations.

If people do experience any cardiovascular side effects of WT3 therapy there are a few measures that can be taken which are explained more thoroughly in the Doctor's Manual for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome (which thoroughly explains the WT3 protocol). They include,

  • adjust the T3 dosage
  • improve how well on time the T3 is taken
  • take a T4-test dose (involves using a weaker thyroid medicine called T4 to reduce the effects of T3)

But sometimes these measures are not enough. A few patients still don't tolerate the WT3 protocol very well. Many of these patients have reported that CardiaCare has helped them tolerate the WT3 protocol extremely well when they couldn't tolerate it well without CardiaCare. If patients on WT3 therapy start having palpitations they can take a dose of CardiaCare right then and they'll usually notice calming down within half an hour (we also recommend a T4-test dose though to stabilize the T3 levels). If patients start having cardiovascular complaints and call their doctors, their doctors can always advise them to try taking some CardiaCare first (before making a trip to the office), and that usually takes care of the complaints.

In fact, we recommend that all patients taking WT3 therapy, also take a little CardiaCare twice a day in an effort avoid cardiovascular side effects in the first place. It's very comforting for patients to know that they have something in hand that they can try taking if they start having any heart symptoms (for example, in the middle of the night).

General Tune Up For The Heart

Really, CardiaCare is not a treatment for cardiac symptoms. It is a collection of herbs that appears to have restorative effects on the function of the heart itself. This is fundamentally different from the effects of most heart drugs. This helps explain how CardiaCare can be helpful to patients with low heart rates as well as patients with high heart rates. It also explains how CardiaCare can help with a variety of heart conditions. CardiaCare appears to have been helpful in patients with arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, bundle branch block, ekg abnormalities, fast heart rate, slow heart rate, a history of heart attacks or who have family histories of heart problems. It can also be helpful in patients who are having heart symptoms due to hyperthyroidism.

Most people who benefit from CardiaCare definitely won't need to take it for life. Most will be able to remain improved even after weaning off completely, or they may only need it very infrequently.

Potential Side Effects

CardiaCare appears to provide nutritional substances, adaptive stimulation, and perhaps medicinal effects for the heart. In a sense, it can be considered food for the heart. Some people might want to take a little CardiaCare twice a day for life (for example, as a preventative in patients with a family history of heart disease). And they can since there doesn't seem to be anything harm in staying on it. Taking CardiaCare can be thought of as a healthy habit like swimming every day to keep one's body healthy. It may actually help people to have stronger hearts.

CardiaCare is normally very well tolerated, but it's important not to exceed three teaspoons a day in divided doses without your doctor's recommendation. The Lily of the Valley that's in the product is a potent herb. Theoretically, a person who takes too much could get an arrhythmia, or aggravate an arrhythmia. Whereas, it appears CardiaCare can be quite helpful in the recommended dosages, it could be detrimental to the heart if taken in excessive doses. This is why this product is only available through physicians.

In general, it often takes time to correct severe health problems. Occasionally some patients' symptoms can get a little worse on CardiaCare before getting better. Sometimes, increasing the dose and waiting another week or two will help the patient start getting better. This is another reason the supervision of a physician is helpful with CardiaCare, to help you decide whether to increase the dose and give it time, or simply stop taking it.

How To Use CardiaCare

This area is currently grayed out because this is what the dosing suggestions will be, we leave them up so you can see different ways in which CardiaCare can be used. Until then, please refer to the dosing suggestions on the bottle, as always.

The dosage for CardiaCare ranges from about 20 drops to one teaspoon two or three times a day. The lowest dose would be about 20 drops twice a day, and the highest dose would be about 1 teaspoon three times a day. In general, patients can start at a certain dose, depending on the severity of the condition, and then increase the dose if necessary. Though most people will get good results with 20 drops 2 or 3 times a day, patients can feel free to take up to 1 teaspoon 2 or 3 times a day, if necessary.

Range of Dosages for CardiaCare
# of drops/day
Dosage
Severity
40
1/3 tsp (20 drops) twice a day
mild
60
20 drops three times a day, or
1/2 tsp twice a day
mild
80
2/3 tsp (40 drops) twice a day
moderate
90
1/2 tsp three times a day
moderate
120
1 tsp twice a day
severe
180
1 tsp three times a day
severe

Incidentally, CardiaCare contains grain alcohol as an extracting agent (which extracts natural compounds from the herbs). The doses of CardiaCare can be mixed with a little water to make it easier to swallow. Here's a tip for people who don't like the idea of ingesting the alcohol, you can swish the CardiaCare around in your mouth to warm it, and then exhale air over it, out of your mouth. A lot of the alcohol will evaporate and be blown off that way. If you do that several times, it will substantially reduce the amount of alcohol you take in and be very easy to wash down with water.

Below are a variety of examples of how CardiaCare can be used.

As a Preventive of Cardiovascular Side Effects in Patients Taking Wilson's T3 Therapy

Though many patients don't get any cardiac side effects with the WT3 protocol, it's very nice to be able to greatly reduce the number of those that do. Therefore, we recommend that every person taking the WT3 protocol be given the T3, T4 for test doses, and CardiaCare. That way, the CardiaCare will greatly reduce the chances of side effects and if patients have any side effects they can take a T4 test dose and some extra CardiaCare, if needed.

To Avoid Side Effects of the WT3 protocol
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
60
20 drops three times a day, or
1/2 tsp twice a day, during the whole treatment.
mild

Comments:

  • If patients tend to have high pulse rates, and palpitations on the WT3 protocol, doctors can feel free to increase the dose up to 1 teaspoon three times a day. For example, 1 teaspoon three times a day might be a good dose for patients that take a T4 test dose (as explained in Chapter 10 of the Doctor's Manual) and that still have some palpitations or rapid pulse.
  • If during the first one or two months of treatment the patients feel no cardiovascular symptoms at all then they can stop taking the CardiaCare.

After someone has gone through the WT3 protocol with CardiaCare what is the wean off procedure for CardiaCare?
If they have no heart symptoms and no heart disease, they can just stop it. They don't have to gradually lower the dose every day, they can just stop it without a problem.

As a Treatment for Cardiovascular Side Effects in Patients Taking Wilson's T3 Therapy

For example, lets say patients are experiencing heart rates of over 100 beats per minute, or are experiencing palpitations

To Treat Side Effects of the WT3 protocol
Starting Dosage
Severity
20 - 30 drops now
mild

Comments:

  • if it doesn't go down within half an hour they can take another 30 drops.
  • If it's not better within half an hour after that they can take 1 teaspoon.
  • If patients need to take the CardiaCare on a regular basis while they're on WT3, to ward off palpitations or a rapid heart rate, they can take CardiaCare 20 drops three times a day. And if that's not enough they can take one teaspoon three times a day.

To Enable People With Cardiac Risk To Qualify For the WT3 protocol

Some people who want the WT3 protocol have abnormal EKG's, fast heart rates, or a family or personal history of heart problems BEFORE starting the treatment. WT3 might not be advisable in these patients until their heart symptoms are normalized.

Many patients have been able to take CardiaCare to the point that their EKG's become more normal and/or their pulse rates get under 100, enabling them to take the WT3 protocol. For example, two patients wanted the WT3 protocol but their resting heart rates were around 103. Those patients took half of a teaspoon of CardiaCare three times a day (90 drops/day) and their pulse rates went down to about 80 or 70 within three or four days and stayed there continuously while they took the WTS protocol.

Below are some heart conditions that can be improved with CardiaCare to the point that people can begin WT3 therapy. Of course, CardiaCare is often useful in these conditions even if the patients aren't going to take WT3 Therapy.

Tachycardia or Fast Heart Rate
(as well as Bradycardia or Slow Heart Rate)

Fast Heart Rate or Slow Heart Rate
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
40
20 drops twice a day
mild
Comments:
  • If not better in 2 days they can increase the dose to 40 drops twice a day (80 drops/day).
  • If not better in 2 days they can increase to 1 tsp twice a day (120 drops/day)
  • If not better in 2 days they can increase to 1 tsp three times a day (180 drops/day, but this is rarely needed).
  • In more acute situations, CardiaCare can also be used to slow down the heart rate more aggressively. One teaspoon in a glass of water will often decrease the heart rate within 20-30 minutes.

Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)

Mild Mitral Valve Prolapse
(Doesn't Affect Daily Function)
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
40
20 drops twice a day
mild

Moderate Mitral Valve Prolapse
(Causes Fatigue, Affects Function)
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
60
30 drops twice a day
mild
Comments:
  • If moderate MVP is not better in one week, then can increase the dose to 1 teaspoon three times a day (180 drops/day).

 

EKG Abnormality (such as bundle branch block)

EKG Abnormality
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
120
1 teaspoon twice a day
severe
Comments:
  • If not better in one month then can increase dose to 1 tsp three times a day (180 drops/day).
  • People with MVP or EKG abnormalities can often wean off CardiaCare and stay well off it

Congestive Heart Failure or Angina

After an episode of CHF a lot of patients can have fluid retention all over their bodies. When the CHF is really severe sometimes that swelling never totally goes away. There have been cases in which the fluid went back into the tissues within a week or so where just by giving these herbs.

Congestive Heart Failure or Angina
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
180
1 teaspoon three times a day
severe
Comments:
  • If it improves then can try decreasing dose to 1/2 tsp three times a day. Continue taking it for a while after symptoms gone.
  • Consider taking maintenance dose for life.
  • Can also be helpful in reducing angina during an attack. Patients can put 20 drops in a glass of water and sip it while they're having the attack, and drink another 20 drops in 15 minutes until it goes away.

Arrhythmias

With CardiaCare, even some patients with arrhythmias have been comfortably treated with the WT3 protocol. One patient, finishing her fourth month of the WT3 protocol, had less arrhythmia than it was before she started WT3 therapy and CardiaCare. If doctors choose to treat patients with arrhythmias, it should be done very carefully (it might be wise not to go higher than about 45 to 52.5mcg of T3 per cycle). CardiaCare can be given for one or two weeks before the WT3 protocol is started. It would be good to have patients come back to the office once a week to make sure it's going in the right direction. As sometimes occurs with the Restorative Medicine approach, a person's arrhythmia could get a little worse before getting better, so it's important to be careful.

Arrhythmias
# of drops/day
Starting Dosage
Severity
40
20 drops twice a day
mild
Comments:
  • If that's not enough it can be increased to about half a teaspoon three times a day (90 drops/day).
  • And If that's not enough it can be increased to 1 teaspoon two or three times a day.
  • In more acute situations, CardiaCare can also be used to settle down arrhythmias more aggressively. One teaspoon in a glass of water will often make a difference within 20-30 minutes.

Hyperthyroidism

Click here for a case study of Dr. Friedman's

General Description

CardiaCare consists of a potent 1:4 liquid extract of the four primary cardiovascular tonics of western herbalism. Lilly of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is indicated for use in mitral insufficiency, feeble circulation, cardiac edema, arrythmia, and dyspnea. It is considered to provide many of the benefits of digitalis without the side-effects (Felter). Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha) is considered as one of the best remedies for the heart and circulatory systems (Hoffman). Cactus (Selenicerius grandiflorus) increases the strength of contractions and slows the rate of the heart (Chevallier), and is used to calm heart palpitations from nervousness (Hoffman). Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) has demonstrated clinically the ability to decrease tachycardia while improving cardiac efficiency. It also reduces anxiety and nervous tension (Duke).

Ingredients:
Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) 300mg
Hawthorne (Crataegus oxycantha) 5mg
Cerus (Selenicereus grandiflorus) 300mg
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) 75mg
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) 5mg

 

 

*The FDA requires us to say: "The statements above have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

 

 

Symptoms mentioned on this page
Rapid Heart Rate
Slow Heart Rate
Palpitations
Nervousness
Anxiety
WT3 protocol
Hyperthyroidism
Arrhythmias
Congestive Heart Failure
Bundle Branch Block
EKG abnormalities
Past History of Heat Attack
Family History of Heart Attack