Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health: A Review

2015 ◽  
pp. 192-203
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Health

Complementary Effects of Multivitamin and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Indices of Cardiovascular Health in Individuals with Elevated Homocysteine

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Earnest ◽  
S. Kupper ◽  
M. Thompson ◽  
Guo ◽  
S. Church
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Omega 3 Fatty Acids ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Fatty Acid Supplementation ◽  
Omega 3 Fatty Acid ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Daily Ingestion

Homocysteine (HCY), C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and triglycerides (TG) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While multivitamins (MVit) may reduce HCY and hsCRP, omega-3 fatty acids (N3) reduce TG; yet, they are seldom studied simultaneously. We randomly assigned 100 participants with baseline HCY (> 8.0 umol/L) to the daily ingestion of: (1) placebo, (2) MVit (VitC: 200 mg; VitE: 400 IU; VitB6: 25 mg; Folic Acid: 400 ug; VitB12: 400 ug) + placebo, (3) N3 (2 g N3, 760 mg EPA, 440 mg DHA)+placebo, or (4) MVit + N3 for 12 weeks. At follow-up, we observed significant reductions in HCY (umol/L) for the MVit (- 1.43, 95 %CI, - 2.39, - 0.47) and MVit + N3 groups (- 1.01, 95 %CI, - 1.98, - 0.04) groups, both being significant (p < 0.05) vs. placebo (- 0.57, 95 %CI, - 1.49, 0.35) and N3 (1.11, 95 % CI, 0.07, 2.17). hsCRP (nmol/L) was significantly reduced in the MVit (- 6.00, 95 %CI, - 1.04, - 0.15) and MVit + N3 (- 0.98, 95 %CI, - 1.51, - 0.46) groups, but not vs. placebo (- 0.15, 95 %CI, - 0.74, 0.43) or N3 (- 0.53, 95 %CI, - 1.18, 0.12). Lastly, we observed significant reductions in TG for the N3 (- 0.41, 95 %CI, - 0.69, - 0.13) and MVit + N3 (- 0.71, 95 %CI, - 0.93, - 0.46) groups, both significant vs. placebo (- 0.10, 95 %CI, - 0.36, 0.17) and MVit groups (0.15, 95 %CI, - 12, 0.42). The co-ingestion of MVit + N3 provides synergistic affects on HCY, hsCRP, and plasma TG.

The Effect of Exercise and Distraction on Blood Pressure Recovery Following an Anger-Provoking Stressor in Normotensive Young Adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye S. Routledge ◽  
Judith A. McFetridge-Durdle ◽  
Marilyn Macdonald ◽  
Lynn Breau ◽  
Tavis Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Exercise Group ◽  
State Anger ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Anger Reactivity ◽  
Quiet Sitting

Ruminating about a prior anger provoking event is found to elevate blood pressure (BP) and delay BP recovery. Delayed BP recovery may be associated with increased risk of hypertension. Interventions that improve BP recovery may be beneficial for cardiovascular health. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the influence of rumination and anger on BP reactivity and recovery, to compare the effect of an exercise intervention or distraction intervention on BP recovery and to explore if exercise improved BP recovery by distracting participants from stressor-related rumination and anger. Healthy, normotensive participants (n = 79, mean age 22.2 ± 4.0 years) underwent an anger-recall interview stressor task, 3 min of exercise (walking), distraction (reading) or no-intervention (quiet sitting) and a 15 min recovery period. State anger reactivity was associated with Δ diastolic (D) BP reactivity and approached significance with Δ systolic (S) BP reactivity. Trait rumination was associated with greater SBP during recovery. Δ SBP recovery did not differ between the exercise, distraction and no-intervention groups. Although there were no differences in Δ DBP recovery between the exercise and no-intervention groups, distraction improved Δ DBP recovery compared to the exercise intervention but not the no-intervention. The proportion of anger-related thoughts (state rumination) in the exercise group did not differ from the distraction or no-intervention groups. However, a smaller proportion of participants in the distraction intervention reported an anger-related thought during recovery compared to the no-intervention group with 76% of their thoughts relating to the provided distraction. Overall, post-stressor exercise was not found to improve BP recovery while reading was effective at distracting individuals from angry thoughts (state rumination) but had no effect on BP compared to no-intervention.

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