Baker research institute reveals Vitamin E could save dying muscle after heart attacks
Melbourne researchers believe an over-the-counter tablet could save muscle dying after a heart attack. Here’s why they want to test the anti-inflammatory powers of this common vitamin.
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Vitamin E could be used to save muscle dying after a heart attack and prevent secondary heart failure.
Researchers from Melbourne’s Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute believe an over-the-counter vitamin E tablet could reduce inflammation and stop the immune system killing damaged heart cells.
The cheap tablets could be administered in ambulances or emergency departments, as well as in the days after lifesaving procedures to clear blockages.
The institute’s Professor Karlheinz Peter said researchers estimated that the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant vitamin could prevent as much as half the damage normally suffered in a heart attack.
“People often think that heart attacks are a solved problem,” he said.
“But a lot of people still die of heart attacks and have long-term effects, such as heart failure, that prevent them from going back to a normal life.”
Heart attacks killed one Australian every 67 minutes in 2017, with survivors twice as likely to die prematurely compared with the general population.
Procedures to clear blocked arteries in the wake of a heart attack, such as ballooning or inserting stents, can cause inflammation and tissue damage, and lead to heart failure later in life.
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There is currently no drug available to reduce heart damage caused by the overshooting inflammation, Prof Peter said.
A study, published in Redox Biology, found vitamin E reduced inflammation in mice and prevented the loss of heart function.
The mice were given the vitamin two hours before surgery, immediately after and twice a day for three consecutive days, mimicking how long patients typically stay in hospital.
Prof Peter said he hoped a two-year clinical trial would be approved within 18 months.
“This is something we have struggled with for quite some time,” he said.
“It is quite surprising. You would think that cardiologists would have drugs to treat this but several drugs have been tested and none have been successful.
“While a successful outcome of our trial is not guaranteed, we have to test this.”
Cranbourne North train driver David Cunningham, 56, suffered a heart attack in 2015 while training for an Ironman.
He had a stent inserted in his left “widow maker” artery, before having another six stents added to a right artery 16 months later.
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He is due to tackle an Ironman in Western Australia in 11 weeks, but struggles to run at the same pace.
“It is nowhere near as good as it used to be — I’ve lost the endurance and pace,” Mr Cunningham said.
“I am still here to tell the tale and I have done plenty of runs since.
“I can live with that.”