Complementary therapies for cerebrovascular disease

Although it is estimated that 60 65 of the Australian population have used complementary therapies (CT) at some time, the figure with regard to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not known. One study1 found that 36 of patients with CVD had used CT in the previous 12 months; the most commonly used therapies being herbs (18 ) (eg. echinacea, garlic, ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, glucosamine) and mind-body therapies (17 ) (eg. deep breathing exercises, meditation). Most of this usage was for general medical conditions, overall wellbeing, or symptom control with only 10 using CT specifically for their CVD and related risk factors. In this study the majority of patients reported that they perceived the CT to be helpful. royal, australian, college, general, practitioner, gp, doctor, medical, practice, racgp, health, care, medication, information, practitioners, family, physician, afp, november, stroke, cerebrovascular, therapies