Jan 25, 2006

No Value In Adding Amino Acids After A Heart Attack

Some physicians believed that adding nutritional supplement with amino acids following a heart attack may improve the chances of surviving a heart attack or decreasing the complications related to a heart attack.

New research is showing that this belief has no scientific backing. This research has shown that use of the amino acid supplement L-arginine following a heart attack does not improve cardiac functions following a heart attack. You can find these results on the latest edition of the Journal of Medical Association.

L-arginine is a widely available dietary supplement and is publicized as having benefits for patients with hypertension, angina, heart failure and sexual dysfunction, according to background information in the article. Previous studies suggest that L-arginine has the potential to reduce vascular (blood vessel) stiffness.

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 153 STEMI patients; 77 were 60 years or older. Participants were enrolled from February 2002 to June 2004. Patients were randomly assigned to receive L-arginine (goal dose of 3 g three times a day) or matching placebo for six months.

The scientists found that 6 months of L-arginine added to standard postinfarct medications did not reduce noninvasive measures of vascular stiffness, improve ejection fraction, or improve clinical outcomes.

To the contrary, we noted a possible increased risk of death in older patients after infarction while taking L-arginine compared with those taking a placebo, leading to the early termination of the study. These findings have broad public health implications given the increasing availability and use of L-arginine in patients with and without established cardiovascular diseases.

Daniel      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Heart disease
About 13 million Americans (about 7 percent of the total population) suffer from coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in American men and women amounting a staggering 20 percent of all causes of death. About half of all deaths related to cardiovascular diseases occur from coronary artery disease. Through this heart watch blog we will have our humble contribution towards making men and women aware of the risks of heart diseases.