The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, published in the European Heart Journal (2005, vol. 26, no. 21), investigated the effect of long-term multiple nutrient supplementation on left ventricular (LV) heart function, inflammatory cytokine levels, and quality-of-life (QoL) in elderly patients with CHF. British and German researchers administered daily either high-dose micronutrients including calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B(6), folate, vitamin B(12), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D, and Coenzyme Q10, or a placebo, to 30 elderly subjects with stable CHF, for 9 months. Quality of life questionnaires, blood samples, six-minute walk test, and cardiac magnetic resonance scanning to evaluate cardiac function were obtained from the participants at the beginning and end of the study.
The researchers found that the nutrient supplement group had improved LV heart function and quality of life, compared to the placebo group. The placebo group reported a decrease in quality of life. There was no change in inflammatory cytokine levels and six-minute walk test in both groups.
"The potential benefits of micronutrient supplementation in CHF are extensive," the study authors write. "Long-term multiple micronutrient supplementation can improve LV volumes and LVEF and QoL scores in elderly patients with heart failure due to LV systolic dysfunction."
Posted by Kristopher Foster on April 20, 2006 03:55 AM
