Table 1 Gradable clinical outcomes for dietary supplements plus cardiovascular drugs a
From: Interactions of commonly used dietary supplements with cardiovascular drugs: a systematic review
Item | Supplement (dose) | Cardiovascular drug | Number of studies, sample size, characteristic (treatment duration) | Outcome (combination versus control) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinical outcome efficacy | Â | Â | Â | Â |
All-cause mortality | Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg/day) | ACE inhibitors (80% of participants were also taking digoxin, furosemide, hydralazine and/or nitrates) | Single study [53]; 30 mostly male patients with left ventricular dysfunction (3 months) | Death: none versus one |
|  | Ginkgo biloba (40 mg four times a day) | Antiplatelet agents | Single study [47]; 62 South Asian patients with previous ischemic stroke (1 month) | No deaths |
|  | Omega-3 fatty acids (4 g/day) | Aspirin | Single study [46]; 291 patients admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting (1 year) | Death: five versus four |
|  |  | Statins | Single study [37]; 50 healthy nonsmoking adults (2 weeks) | No deaths |
|  |  | Warfarin | Single study [46]; 319 patients admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting (1 year) | Deaths: three versus two |
|  |  | Fenofibrate | Single study [55]; 167 participants with hyperglycemia (2 months) | No deaths |
Quality of life | Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg/day) | ACE inhibitors | Single study [53]; 30 mostly male patients with left ventricular dysfunction (3 months) | Minnesota ‘Living with Heart Failure’ questionnaire (mean sum of all scores post-treatment 26.7 ± 17.9 versus 26.5 ± 18.7 |
Myocardial infarction | Omega-3 fatty acids (1.8 g eicosapentaenoic acid + 1.2 g docosahexaenoic acid) | Aspirin + calcium channel antagonists | Single study [50]; 58 patients who had undergone successful coronary angioplasty (6 months) | Acute MI: 4 versus 2 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | RR 1.70 (95% CI 0.32, 8.84) |
Arrhythmia | Omega-3 fatty acids (4 g/day) | Statins | Single study [41]; 256 patients with persistent hypertriglyceridemia despite statin therapy (2 months) | Arrhythmia: one versus none |
Stroke | Vitamin E (0.4 g/day) | Aspirin | Single study [48]; 100 patients with previous reversible or irreversible ischemic neurologic deficit (2 years) | Fatal or non-fatal stroke: three versus six |
Ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and transient ischemic attack | Vitamin E (600 IU/day) | Aspirin | Single study [40]; 19,934 healthy women (10 years) | Composite outcome of nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke and vascular death, RR 0.95 (95% CI 0.79, 1.13) |