The heart is the hardest working muscle in the body. With heart failure, the muscle is weakening. With angina, there may not be heart muscle weakness, but increasing heart efficiency can decrease its work and therefore the tendency to chest pain and abnormal heart rhythms as well.

Fortunately there are many natural ways to improve heart muscle function.

The key treatments for these heart problems that I use in my practice, including for abnormal heart rhythms and angina, but especially for congestive heart failure, are:

Ribose. This powder that looks and tastes like sugar is a key to energy production in the body — including the heart. A study using ribose for treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome showed that it increased energy an average of 45 percent. One of the study participants had atrial fibrillation. As is commonly seen in practice, his abnormal heart rhythm clear up after only three weeks on the ribose and he was able to come off his heart medications.

Coenzyme Q10. Take 200 mg to 400 mg per day. This nutrient is especially critical for anyone on cholesterol lowering medications, even if there is no heart problem, as these medications cause CoQ10 deficiency, and this nutrient is critical for energy production. In fact, many physicians suspect that a major cause for the increasing epidemic of heart failure is that people have been on these cholesterol lowering medications..

Magnesium. Take 200 mg per day. Magnesium not only increases your heart muscle strength, but also markedly decreases the tendency to abnormal heart rhythms. I recommend almost everyone take this nutrient, as it is made to supply outstanding overall nutritional support. After several months as you "fill your tank" nutritionally, you may find that a lower dose feels better.