Summary Inflammation plays a critical role in coronary artery disease. In the present study, Taiwanese research departments, therefore, investigated whether L-carnitine supplementation is able to reduce inflammation in patients with this disease. 23 (out of 47) participants were assigned to a test group that received an L-Carnitine supplement (1000 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The other…
Summary Endothelial dysfunction, the impaired functioning of the lining of blood vessels, is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure. Japanese scientists, therefore, aimed to investigate whether coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol) can improve the function of heart tissue (endothelium) in patients with chronic heart failure. 14 patients received either 400 mg coenzyme…
Summary Taurine is a common substance in human tissues, which influences cell function, among others. This review, conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne, gives an overview of the anti-inflammatory effects of taurine on cardiovascular diseases. Taurine has been shown, for instance, to prevent cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease, inducing a prolonged life…
Summary Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation. Thus, this study investigated the anti-inflammatory capacity of vitamin C in obese patients. 64 obese participants with high blood pressure and/or diabetes and high levels of inflammatory markers were enrolled into either the experimental group (31 patients) or the control group (33 patients). The experimental group was treated…
Summary This review, executed by research departments from Romania and China, aimed to elucidate the role of multiple micronutrient supplementation in heart failure patients. For this review, several publications were evaluated, which investigated the efficacy of micronutrient supplementation in heart failure. These publications showed that micronutrient supplementation induces improved health outcomes in heart failure patients…
Summary According to research, low vitamin D levels are associated with higher blood pressure. This study, executed by research departments in Switzerland and the USA, aimed to determine whether higher daily vitamin D supplementation (2000 IU or 50µg) is more effective in controlling blood pressure among older adults than vitamin D supplementation with a standard…
Summary This study, conducted by the universities of Rio de Janeiro and Glasgow, aimed to evaluate the effects of oral magnesium supplementation on blood pressure and vascular function in women with high blood pressure. The participants were divided into a group receiving a magnesium supplement (600 mg/day) and a group receiving a placebo. In addition,…
Summary This review by researchers from the University of Minneapolis, USA analyzed the results from clinical trials investigating the efficacy of magnesium supplementation for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Low magnesium levels are commonly observed in heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. They are also a predictor for cardiovascular diseases and related…
Summary This study, conducted by Indian, Australian, and British research institutes, examined whether vitamin D supplementation can improve vascular function and subsequently decrease the mortality of patients with chronic kidney disease. 120 non-diabetic patients with moderate to severe kidney damage and vitamin D deficiency were involved in the study. The patients received a high-dose vitamin…
Summary This Canadian review gives an overview of the beneficial effects of taurine in cardiovascular diseases. Studies demonstrate that taurine has a protective role for cells. Additionally, literature also shows the antioxidant properties of taurine. Therefore, supplementation of taurine is necessary and should be considered to treat cardiovascular diseases. More details can be found in…
Summary This study was conducted in addition to the previously mentioned vitamin D study by Indian, Australian, and British researchers. In the present study, patients who previously were included in the placebo group received a vitamin D supplement. They received two oral doses of vitamin D at 8 weeks intervals. Subsequently, the same parameters as…
Summary A Chinese research institute aimed to investigate whether a daily vitamin B supply can improve the risk of cardiovascular diseases in healthy elderly. To this end, 390 healthy participants, aged 60 to 74 years, were administered with either vitamin C or vitamin C plus several B vitamins for 12 months daily. A risk predictor…
Summary This study, conducted by several Japanese research departments, aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose taurine supplementation to prevent stroke-like events resulting from a genetic disorder. Therefore, 10 patients received a high-dosed taurine supplement for 52 weeks. 80% of the patients who were administered with taurine showed a reduced frequency of stroke-like…
Summary This Iranian study investigated the effects of a combined omega-3 and vitamin E supplementation in patients with coronary artery disease. Both substances play a critical role in regulating oxidative stress and inflammation processes. 60 male patients with coronary artery disease were involved in the study and categorized into three groups: the first group received…
Summary Researchers from the University of Naples, Italy, aimed to evaluate the effects of specific dietary supplements on risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including elevated lipid and glucose levels. The study involved slightly overweight young adults aged between 20 and 27 years with elevated cholesterol levels and normal glucose metabolism. The participants received either a…
Summary This Iranian study aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of grape seed extract and vitamin C in oxidative stress and tissue damage induced during coronary artery bypass surgery. Therefore, 87 patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery were assigned to three groups of each 29 patients. The first group was a control group without treatment; the…
Summary L-carnitine blood levels are reduced after coronary artery bypass surgery. Therefore, a Brazilian trial aimed to verify whether L-carnitine supplementation could be beneficial in the recovery of L-carnitine levels in heart failure patients submitted to bypass surgery. The participants were divided into a supplementation group, administered with an oral dose of 50 mg/kg L-carnitine…
Summary This Iranian study investigated the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on the heart function of patients with beta-thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder associated with anemia that may lead to various heart conditions. During this study, 60 beta-thalassemia patients were divided into two groups and were treated with either L-carnitine or a placebo for 6 months.…
Summary This study, executed by an Iranian and a Croatian university, aimed to analyze the effects of magnesium and zinc supplements on glucose levels, oxidative stress, and inflammation in patients with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. In this study, 60 patients were divided into either a group receiving a placebo or a group…
Summary According to this Chinese study, omega-3 fatty acid supplements can reduce the risk of thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in the elderly after surgery. During this intervention, 452 elderly patients were divided into two groups receiving either omega-3 fatty acids (1000 mg daily) or a placebo orally 30 days after surgery. After the intervention period,…
Summary Researchers from three Iranian research institutes investigated the effects of coenzyme Q10 on several factors influencing metabolic syndrome. This new and common lifestyle disease includes high blood pressure, obesity, and increased glucose and cholesterol levels. This trial was performed with 60 patients, aged 40 to 85 years, with overweight or obesity, type 2 diabetes,…
Summary In this study, the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 and a conventional drug to treat heart failure was analysed in patients with an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis). The patients were divided into three groups: the first group received only coenzyme Q10 (42 patients), the second group received only the conventional heart medication (39…
Summary This Turkish study investigated the preventive effect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on the occurrence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery. 116 patients with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency were divided into two groups: 58 patients (treatment group) received oral vitamin D 48h before the surgery. The other group, which also included…
Summary This Iranian study aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of dietary antioxidants on several cardiovascular risk factors in patients waiting for coronary artery bypass surgery. In this study, 454 hospitalized patients aged between 35 and 80 years were involved. Vitamin D levels and other parameters and were measured in blood. Also, the level…
Summary This trial was conducted by Iranian researchers who examined the effects of vitamin D on heart cell death and changes in parameters indicating inflammation in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. 70 patients were involved and divided into two groups. The patients received either a vitamin D supplement or a placebo for 3…
Summary This Canadian review aimed to examine the ability of phytosterols – naturally occurring compounds in plant-based foods – to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Studies showed that phytosterols can improve cholesterol levels. For instance, numerous clinical trials documented that 2 g of phytosterols per day decreases LDL cholesterol by 8–10%. Generally, phytosterols were…
Summary This review by Russian and Moldavian research institutes gives an overview of studies on the role of coenzyme Q10 in cardiovascular diseases. It shows that coenzyme Q10 supplementation can be a beneficial method to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, like high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and heart muscle inflammation.…
Summary This study by Australian researchers investigated the effects of omega-3 fish oil supplementation on cardiovascular health. 20 young and healthy adults were involved in this study. Participants were divided into either a group receiving an omega-3 supplement or a placebo product. Among others, omega-3 levels and heart rate were measured. The results showed a…
Summary This study, conducted by several Chinese and American research institutes, evaluated the effect of calcium levels on stroke risk and the efficacy of folic acid supplementation to prevent stroke among patients with high blood pressure (hypertension). 19644 males patients were included and divided into two groups. The patients received either a hypertension drug and…
Summary This Chinese study investigated the effect of a micronutrient supplement containing vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids on blood glucose and blood lipid levels in patients with gestational diabetes, i.e. a type of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy. 150 patients with gestational diabetes, aged between 18 and 40 years, were involved in this…
Summary This study by different Chinese research institutes investigated the effect of coenzyme Q10 on several risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in patients with abnormal blood lipid levels. 101 patients who did not take any lipid- or glucose-lowering drugs received coenzyme Q10 (120 mg) or a placebo daily for 24 weeks. Several parameters were measured…
Summary A Turkish study examined whether vitamin D levels are related to deep vein thrombosis. It included 140 participants in the thrombosis group and 140 in the control group. Basic and general information about the participants (age, gender, height, weight and BMI), comorbidities and vitamin D levels were recorded and compared between the two groups.…
Summary A study executed by researchers from Germany and Northern Ireland showed that a diet rich in flavonoids improves gut health by creating a more diverse composition of the microbiome. The study was performed with 904 German people. Specifically, an association of up to 15% was observed between lower systolic blood pressure and flavonoid-rich food,…
Summary The present study analyzed the effects of magnesium and zinc on patients with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The study participants were divided into two groups of 30 subjects each: One group received 250 mg magnesium oxide plus 150 mg zinc sulfate for 12 weeks, while the other group received a placebo.…
Summary The study aimed to investigate the effect of a dietary supplement on the nutritional status of healthy adults and various biomarkers of heart disease. During the 8-week study period, 60 participants received a dietary supplement consisting of multivitamins, multiminerals, and phytonutrients. It was found that the subjects’ nutritional status improved, and cardiovascular biomarkers were…
Summary Coronary heart disease is a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries usually caused by the buildup of plaque. In this study, Turkish scientists investigated the vasodilatory effect of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (α-tocopherol) – i.e., their ability to widen blood vessels – in patients with coronary heart disease. For this…
Summary High oxidative stress and chronic inflammation may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease. Therefore, a study from Taiwan investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of coenzyme Q10 in patients with coronary heart disease who were taking statins. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group received 300 mg of coenzyme…
Summary The present study investigated whether a quercetin supplement could reduce various risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For this purpose, 93 overweight or obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (simultaneous occurrence of several cardiovascular risk factors) were studied who supplemented their diet with quercetin for 6 weeks. The final results showed that dietary supplementation contributed to…
Summary Scientists from Indonesia investigated the effect of a vitamin combination on ischemic stroke (sudden loss of blood circulation to the brain). 30 subjects received a combination of vitamin A and vitamin D for 12 weeks. At the end of the study period, the researchers found that the subjects’ serum vitamin A and vitamin D…
Summary This Japanese study investigated whether curcumin can be used to treat heart failure. The study, conducted on animal models, found that curcumin administration resulted in improved systolic function. (The term systole describes the part of the cardiac cycle during which some chambers of the heart muscle contract after refilling with blood.) Furthermore, the increase…
Summary A study conducted in the USA investigated the efficacy of quercetin against high blood pressure (hypertension). For this purpose, participants with elevated blood pressure values and participants with a mild form of hypertension were given 730 mg of quercetin daily for 28 days. It was found that quercetin supplementation contributed to a reduction in…
Summary This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in chronic heart failure. For this purpose, a total of 420 subjects with moderate to severe heart failure were observed for 2 years. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which supplemented CoQ10 100 mg 3 times daily in addition to…
Summary This study investigated the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in the treatment of chronic heart failure. Subjects with moderate to severe heart failure took either 300 mg of CoQ10 or a placebo daily for 2 years. Compared to the placebo group, the CoQ10 participants showed a significant reduction in deaths, primarily from cardiovascular disease,…
Summary This study investigated the effect of a specific micronutrient combination on insulin levels in patients with cardiac arrhythmias. This study aimed to improve the function of the left ventricle with the help of the selected micronutrients. For 6 weeks, 30 subjects with cardiac arrhythmias took twice daily 2 tablets with 145.8 mg magnesium, 469.2…
Summary A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the benefit and safety of long-term intravenous iron administration in patients with heart failure. For this purpose, 152 heart failure patients with iron deficiency received a daily intravenous iron supplement for one year. The treatment led to long-term improvements in the patients’ functional capacity (ability…
Summary A study at the University of Chile explored whether omega-3 fatty acids and specific vitamins can strengthen the antioxidant system and, in this way, reduce the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. The antioxidant system is a group of enzymes and antioxidant molecules that control the formation of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds and…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose taurine supplementation in patients with recurrent stroke-like episodes. For this purpose, 10 patients were observed who received either 9 g or 12 g of taurine daily for 52 weeks. The results showed that oral taurine supplementation effectively reduced the incidence of stroke. Further details can be found…
Summary This study aimed to analyze the effects of a leucine-enriched amino acid supplement on muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function in stroke patients with sarcopenia. The study involved 44 elderly stroke patients who took the aforementioned supplement for eight weeks. The subjects also performed a low-intensity rehabilitation program. The result showed that the…
Summary The present study investigated the efficacy of taurine supplementation against atherosclerosis and inflammation in patients with heart failure. Subjects with heart failure and an ejection fraction (percentage of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction) of less than 50% participated in the study. Subjects took 500 mg of taurine 3…
Summary The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of selenium supplementation in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare, life-threatening heart disease. One hundred subjects with a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 45% (percentage of blood volume ejected from a ventricle during a cardiac action) and selenium deficiency took…