What is in this article?:
The cardiovascular heart health market is large, both because more Americans die from heart disease than any other health condition and because there are many different ways to address it. Formulation expert Judi Quilici Timmcke, PhD, reveals the new frontier in cardiovascular nutrients.
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Ingredients for cardiac muscle tissue
A few ingredients to support heart muscle tissue are CoQ10, hawthorn and L-carnitine.
The category standout: L-carnitine
L-carnitine functions by shuttling long-chain fatty acids into the cell’s mitochondria where they are broken down for energy. Angina pectoris (chest pain) occurs when there is ischemia (insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle tissue).
L-carnitine has been used in various clinical studies to show its benefits to the heart. One randomized, placebo-controlled study administered L-carnitine in 200 patients that had exercise-induced stable angina. Patients had conventional medical therapy plus 2 grams of L-carnitine daily for 6 months. The study revealed that there was a reduced incidence of premature ventricular contractions at rest, and also improved exercise tolerance.9
In 2000, a 3-month randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed using 2 grams L-carnitine daily in 47 subjects who had chronic stable angina. Compared to placebo, L-carnitine significantly improved exercise duration and reduced the time necessary for exercise-induced ST segment changes to return to baseline.10
Runners up: CoQ10, hawthorn
CoQ10 has been shown in animal research to have a protective effect on the heart muscle tissue keeping blood flow maintained.11
Hawthorn is believed to benefit the heart muscle tissue by helping to improve blood flow to the heart and strengthening the heart’s contractions. Research has been performed demonstrating that hawthorn helps improve patients with stage II congestive heart failure.12
