From: Bonnie MacEvoy <bonmom@humboldt1.com>

>>'pharmaceuticals' which

>>require FDA Approval. As in everything, efficacy should be proved.

Efficacy is less of an issue than safety.

>>Thus if a herbal remedy is potent, its toxicity should be checked,

Not a bad idea, but FDA approval is a lengthy and expensive process

requiring scientific papers as support. Kind of a Catch-22 for herbal remedies.

>question: how many people die each year from taking fda approved drugs?

>question: how many people die each year from taking herbs?

>question: how many drugs are tested in combination? (many people with

>chronic conditions take several

>drugs)

I don't believe the answers to any of these are known, as there are so many

confounding factors (your last statement as an example). FDA approval

offers no guarantees, but at least screens the medication and requires its

uses and side effects be published. As soon as any question arises that a

drug may be unsafe, it is the FDA who pulls it off the shelves until the

drug is scrutinized further. It is not a perfect system, but given the many

dangerous effects that can come from pharmaceuticals, at least it offers a

watch-dog.

***

>Does anyone have any information on the treatment of arrhythmia aside from

>the use of drug preparations such as beta blockers etc. ie. alternative

>medicine.

Just to be careful. Arrhythmias can have a multitude of possible causes,

from the benign (such as caffeine, mild conduction defect, stress) to the

dangerous (electrolyte imbalance). If you are planning to try to alter some

of the electrolytes critical to normal electrical conduction in the heart

(potassium, calcium, magnesium), please do so with monitoring of the serum

levels of these salts.

This is one area where the FDA scrutiny of drugs for careful titration of

doses and side effects is useful. Foxglove, a common plant, is used to made

digitalis, a potent rhythm regulator. Use of the plant could lead to deadly

overdoses, as even microgram amounts of the active substance can even stop

your heart.

I would first try to get a proper diagnosis - this is one topic where

Western medicine can have a life-saving impact. It does not hurt to be sure

you are getting plenty of rest, lots of fluids, cut out caffeine or ephedra

substances, eat a balanced diet rich in minerals, and learn biofeedback or

meditative techniques to try to control the extra beats. But none of these

things will change the underlying cause for which these potentially

dangerous symptoms can be a red flag.

1/4 of people who have a cardiac arrest (heart stops or fibrillates) did not

know they had heart disease - what a way to find out!

>I have tried supplimentation with magnesium with no apparent success.

You either took the wrong amounts or you are not magnesium deficient. Too

much magnesium can effect many organ systems and is not a benign thing to

take. Any substance in high doses is a drug.

Please do not treat arrhythmias without the guidance of a trusted health

professional.

Bonnie MacEvoy, MD