Key result
Antioxidant vitamins blunt the ~60-90% reduction in MI risk factors from simvastatin and niacin.
Why the study?
The effect of antioxidant vitamins on the efficacy of lipid-lowering drugs simvastatin and niacin in patients at high risk of major cardiac events was unclear.
Do antioxidant vitamins reduce the effectiveness of lipid-lowering drugs (simvastatin and niacin) in patients at high risk of a major cardiac event?
Do antioxidant vitamins reduce the effectiveness of lipid-lowering drugs (simvastatin and niacin) in patients at high risk of a major cardiac event?
Effect estimate: 60-90% reduction
Patients taking simvastatin and niacin for cardiovascular risk reduction should avoid antioxidant vitamins, as they may reduce the efficacy of the lipid-lowering therapy.
Antioxidants may blunt simvastatin-niacin benefits; leaves open whether avoidance improves outcomes in high-risk patients.
The combination of simvastatin and niacin can reduce the risk factors associated with myocardial infarction by 60-90% in patients at high risk of a major cardiac event, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have found. Furthermore, this same patient population should be advised to stop taking antioxidant vitamins. “Physicians should question their patients and have them stop using antioxidant vitamins. It is the opposite of what I used to say,” the study's lead author, Dr B Greg Brown of the University of Washington commented. The recommendations emanate from new research, which found that a combination of antioxidant …
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Scott Gottlieb (2001) studied High risk of a major cardiac event. Simvastatin and niacin / Antioxidant vitamins was evaluated on Risk factors associated with myocardial infarction (60-90% reduction). The combination of simvastatin and niacin reduced risk factors associated with myocardial infarction by 60-90%, while antioxidant vitamins appeared to make these lipid-lowering drugs less effective.
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