The heart is both an organ and a metaphor. It is the center of health and emotions, especially love and loss. We speak of being “heartful” and “heartbroken,” and we can have a “soaring heart” or be “heartsore.”
Additionally, heart disease accounts for over 30% of all deaths worldwide. According to WHO, over 17 million people died from heart disease in 2022.
The plant world offers an amazing resource for herbalists supporting heart health and managing symptoms of cardiovascular dysfunction. Herbs can soothe frazzled nerves and ease stress responses. Think of the comforting and relaxing warmth of linden, a vasodilator, and calming nervine. Or the mood-elevating qualities of rose, skullcap, and cramp bark, which are also anti-hypertensives and relaxing.
And sometimes, we need more potent, targeted remedies. Night-blooming cactus, arjuna bark, and lily of the valley can all be very useful for arrhythmia, tachycardia, ectopic beats, fibrillation, and hypertension.
In this workshop, highlighting a case of cardiomyopathy from her clinical practice, medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera will share herbal and nutritional support for the heart, illustrating the ‘pyramid prescribing principle,’ and clarify the application of herbs.
You will learn…
- Herbs that are safe and effective cardiac tonics and hypotensives, including their major active constituents, actions, and clinical applications
- The action of plants rich in cardio-active glycosides and their safe use
- The pharmacology and safety considerations for stronger-acting botanicals, such as Convallaria majalis
- The use of linden and cactus in heart disease with depression
- How to choose the best herbs and formulate to safely and effectively support heart health
Some of the plants covered in this workshop include:
🌿Nightblooming Cactus, Selenicereus grandiflorus
🌿Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis
🌿Rauwolfia, Rauwolfia serpentina
🌿Arjuna, Terminalia arjuna
🌿Linden, Tilia europea
🌿Mistletoe, Viscum album
This workshop will be recorded. Please register to receive an email when the replay is posted within the BotanicWise Community.
About Your Instructor:
Chanchal Cabrera MSc, FNIMH, RHT, (RH) AHG
Chanchal is a medical herbalist and has been in clinical practice for 35 years with a specialty in holistic oncology. She is the author of Fibromyalgia: A Journey towards Healing and her new book Holistic Cancer Care: An Herbal Approach to Preventing Cancer, Helping Patients Thrive during Treatment, and Minimizing the Risk of Recurrence. She held the faculty chair in Botanical Medicine at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster from 2004 to 2016, and she publishes widely in professional journals and lectures internationally on medical herbalism, nutrition, and health.
Chanchal is also a certified Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) practitioner, a certified Master Gardener, and a certified Horticulture Therapist. Chanchal lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where she and her husband manage Innisfree Farm & Botanic Garden, a 7-acre internationally registered botanic garden specializing in food and medicine plants, and where they host apprenticeships in sustainable food production and herbal medicine. The farm also hosts Gardens without Borders, a federally registered not-for-profit society established to run the botanic garden and provide horticulture therapy.