A serendipitous discovery suggests that high dose multivitamin and mineral treatment may significantly reduce serious cardiovascular events in people at high risk.
By chance, a researcher group discovered that a multivitamin supplement they were giving patients who have had a previous heart attack and undergoing another therapy experienced a large benefit from the multivitamins.
Specifically, they found that the 28-component high-dose multivitamin and mineral product they were using had benefits independent of the treatment they were investigating (chelation).
An analysis of their data revealed that in participants not on statin therapy at baseline the high-dose multivitamins and mineral regimen resulted in a large reduction in cardiovascular events (mostly attributable to a reduction in cardiovascular deaths), when compared with placebo.
These findings are important because the only other comparable study that has explored the effects of a multivitamin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease found no benefit [2]. However, this study used a much lower dose product (Centrum Silver) providing 100% of the RDA/ NRV, which is typically the minimum needed to prevent a serious deficiency disease and not an optimal amount.
Because these results were unexpected and serendipitously discovered, the study investigators suggest viewing these results skeptically until they replicate these finding in another study currently underway.
References:
Issa OM, Roberts R, Mark DB, et al. Effect of high-dose oral multivitamins and minerals in participants not treated with statins in the randomized Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT). Am Heart J. 2018
Jan;195:70-77.
Sesso, H.D., Christen, W.G., Bubes, V. et al. Multivitamins in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in men: the Physicians’ Health Study II randomized controlled trial.
JAMA. 2012; 308: 1751–1760