Lake Champlain Cardiology Associates
52 Tom Miller Rd., Plattsburgh, NY 12901 (518) 563-2404
www.lccahearts.com
Vitamins and the Heart
Many people use vitamins, especially B Vitamins, Folic Acid, and Vitamin E to help protect against heart disease. In the 1990’s many doctors believed that these protected against heart attacks, and in fact over 50% of physicians used some of these vitamins themselves.
However, in the last few years major studies have shown fairly conclusively that these vitamins do not protect the heart (nor do Vitamins C or E protect against cancer). In fact, in some studies there was some reason to believe that too much of these vitamins could actually be harmful to your health. In addition, some supplements can interfere with other medicines you may be taking. For example, St. John’s Wort, Gingko Biloba, Vitamin E, and Co-Enzyme Q-10 can interfere with the safety and function of some prescription drugs. For these reasons, it is important to let your doctor know about any vitamins or supplements you may be taking, even if you think they are harmless.
Many people ask me if they can take fewer pills. Given what we know about what works, and what doesn’t work for the heart, often the answer is to stay on all your prescription heart pills, which have been proven to save lives, and stop the vitamins and other supplements.