Many vitamins are important for a healthy heart, but a few are particularly vital to preventing and treating heart problems. Whether you already have a heart condition or you want to prevent the development of one, you can benefit from taking certain vitamins. Some vitamins are effective in preventing or treating cardiovascular diseases such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The omega-3 type of essential fatty acids are important to heart health and may help to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Fish oil and flaxseed oil both contain omega-3 fatty acids. Whether you have heart disease or are healthy, you can benefit from omega-3 fatty acids, notes the American Heart Association. A 2002 review of multiple medical studies found that taking fish oil can "slightly reduce" overall mortality risks, death from heart disease and sudden cardiac death, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Another study in 2007 of 18,000 people revealed that taking fish oil supplements can prevent heart problems, but the study had no placebo group. Fish oil may also lower triglyceride levels in the blood and increase HDL, or "good cholesterol," levels, which can improve heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, the University of Pittsburgh says.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that's important to heart health, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center. Magnesium is especially vital to heart health if you have arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. Also, if you take certain diuretics, or "water pills," you may be deficient in magnesium. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center cites a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which 187 participants with angina took either a placebo or 365 mg of magnesium each day for six months. The participants who took the magnesium supplement experienced improved physical endurance and reduced chest pain while exercising.
Coenzyme Q-10
Taking 100 mg to 200 mg daily of coenzyme Q-10 may help to reduce the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis or treat certain side effects of cardiovascular conditions, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. People with heart failure tend to have low levels of coenzyme Q-10 and taking the supplement may help to ease edema in the legs, decrease fluid in the lungs and boost physical endurance in people with heart failure.
Coenzyme Q-10 may help to treat congestive heart failure when taken with traditional medications, as well as help in recovering from a heart attack, hypertension and cardiomyopathy, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. For example, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 59 males with hypertension who were taking prescription medication for their condition found that taking 120 mg per day of coenzyme Q-10 decreased their blood pressure by about 9 percent. The study compared the results to a portion of the group who took a placebo over the course of eight weeks.
A large, one-year-long double-blind study of 641 individuals with moderate to severe congestive heart failure found that taking coenzyme Q-10 significantly reduced the severity of the participants' symptoms and the amount of hospitalizations for heart failure. The study gave one portion of the group a daily dosage of 2 mg of coenzyme Q-10 per 1 kg of body weight and another portion a placebo.
