In The Battle Against Heart Disease, Stroke, Unhealthy Behaviors Could Slow Progress

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Stroke;  Heart Disease;  Public Health
Article Date: 17 Dec 2012 - 0:00 PST Current ratings for:
In The Battle Against Heart Disease, Stroke, Unhealthy Behaviors Could Slow Progress

Poor eating and exercise habits could be the game-changer in the fight against heart disease and stroke deaths, according to the American Heart Association's "Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update 2013," published in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation.

"Americans need to move a lot more, eat healthier and less, and manage risk factors as soon as they develop," said Alan S. Go, M.D., chairman of the report's writing committee and chief of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions Section of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland. "If not, we'll quickly lose the momentum we've gained in reducing heart attack and stroke rates and improving survival over the last few decades."

Between 1999 and 2009, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) fell 32.7 percent, but still accounted for nearly one in three deaths in the nation. That's 2,150 people dying from CVD each day - about one death every 40 seconds.

In 2010, the American Heart Association set a goal to improve cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent and reduce heart disease and stroke deaths 20 percent by 2020.

However, according to projections in the 2013 report, heart health may only improve by 6 percent if current trends continue. The biggest barriers to success are projected increases in obesity and diabetes, and only modest improvements in diet and physical activity. On a positive note, smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure rates are projected to decline.

Among heart disease and stroke risk factors, the most recent data shows: More adults age 20 and over are obese (34.6 percent) than normal or underweight (31.8 percent); 68.2 percent are overweight or obese. Among children ages 2-19, 31.8 percent are overweight or obese. Thirty-two percent of adults report no aerobic activity; 17.7 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys, grades 9-12, report fewer than an hour of aerobic activity in the past week. 13.8 percent of adults have total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL or higher. Thirty-three percent of adults have high blood pressure; African-Americans have among the highest prevalence of high blood pressure (44 percent) worldwide. 8.3 percent of adults have diagnosed diabetes, and 8.2 percent have undiagnosed diabetes; 38.2 percent have prediabetes. Despite four decades of improvement, 21.3 percent of men and 16.7 percent of women age 18 and over still smoke cigarettes; 18.1 percent of students in grades 9-12 report cigarette smoking.

"As the leader in the fight against heart disease and stroke, we are taking a more aggressive and innovative approach, including taking some pages from the playbooks of the public health sector," said Donna Arnett, Ph.D., president of the American Heart Association and chairperson of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. "We're focusing on population-based ways to improve health factors for all Americans."

Some of these include: Working with healthcare systems to support and reward providers who help patients improve their health behaviors and manage their health risk factors. Working with insurers to cover preventive health services and reward positive health behaviors and medication adherence. Working with the education community to make changes in schools that support healthy diets and physical activity for children. Building comprehensive worksite wellness programs. Building healthier communities with improved access to healthier foods and green space for physical activity. The association has a wide range of programs and policy initiatives aimed at improving cardiovascular health through risk factor prevention and health care quality, Arnett said. Information on improving your heart health can be found at http://www.MyHeartMyLife.org.

"In this race against time, it will take nationwide efforts driven by communities and systems - a patient-by-patient approach alone won't do it," Arnett said. "But we're optimistic that if we increase our efforts for improvements in prevention and reductions in risk factors, we can be successful - we can save lives."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our obesity / weight loss / fitness section for the latest news on this subject. Additional authors and disclosures are on the manuscript.
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'Good' Cholesterol, May Not Protect Against Heart Disease

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Cholesterol
Article Date: 09 May 2012 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
''Good' Cholesterol, May Not Protect Against Heart Disease'

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers has found that a subclass of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the so-called "good" cholesterol, may not protect against coronary heart disease (CHD) and in fact may be harmful.

This is the first study to show that a small protein, apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III), that sometimes resides on the surface of HDL cholesterol may increase the risk of heart disease and that HDL cholesterol without this protein may be especially heart protective.

The study was published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

"This finding, if confirmed in ongoing studies, could lead to better evaluation of risk of heart disease in individuals and to more precise targeting of treatments to raise the protective HDL or lower the unfavorable HDL with apoC-III," said Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at HSPH and senior author of the study.

A high level of HDL cholesterol is strongly predictive of a low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). But trials of drugs that increase HDL cholesterol have not consistently shown decreases in CHD, leading to the hypothesis that HDL cholesterol may contain both protective and non-protective components.

ApoC-III, a proinflammatory protein, resides on the surface of some lipoproteins - both HDL and low-density lipoproteins, or LDL ("bad") cholesterol. The researchers, led by Sacks and Majken Jensen, research associate in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, examined whether the existence or absence of apoC-III on HDL cholesterol affected the "good" cholesterol's heart-protective qualities, and whether its existence could differentiate HDL cholesterol into two subclasses - those which protect against the risk of future heart disease and those which do not.

Blood samples collected in 1989 and 1990 from 32,826 women in the Brigham and Women's Hospital-based Nurses' Health Study were examined, along with blood samples collected from 1993 to 1995 from 18,225 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. During 10 to 14 years of follow-up, 634 cases of coronary heart disease were documented and matched with controls for age, smoking, and date of blood drawing.

The researchers compared plasma concentrations of total HDL, HDL that has apoC-III, and HDL without apoC-III as predictors of the risk of CHD.

After adjusting for age, smoking status and other dietary and lifestyle cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers found that two different subclasses of HDL have opposite associations with the risk of CHD in apparently healthy men and women. The major HDL type, which lacks apoC-III, had the expected heart-protective association with CHD. But the small fraction (13%) of HDL cholesterol that has apoC-III present on its surface was paradoxically associated with a higher, not lower, risk of future CHD. Those men and women who had HDL apoC-III in the highest 20% of the population had a 60% increased risk of CHD.

The results suggest that measuring HDL apoC-III and HDL without apoC-III rather than the simpler measure of total HDL may be a better gauge of heart disease risk (or of HDL's protective capacity). "Reduction in HDL-apoC-III by diet or drug treatments may become an indicator of efficacy," said Jensen.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our heart disease section for the latest news on this subject. The study was supported by The National Institutes of Health and the Villum Kann Rasmussen Foundation (Denmark).
"Apolipoprotein C-III as a Potential Modulator of the Association Between HDL-Cholesterol and Incident Coronary Heart Disease," Majken K. Jensen, Eric B. Rimm, Jeremy D. Furtado, Frank M. Sacks, Journal of the American Heart Association, April 2012.
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Some Dieting Increases Heart Disease Risk

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Cholesterol;  Heart Disease;  Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 12 Jun 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Some Dieting Increases Heart Disease Risk

A 25 year study in Northern Sweden, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition Journal, is the first to show that a regional and national dietary intervention to reduce fat intake, decreased cholesterol levels, but a switch to the popular low carbohydrate diet was paralleled by an increase in cholesterol levels. Over the entire 25 year period the population BMI continued to increase, regardless of either diet, and both the increase in body mass and increased cholesterol levels are indicators of increased cardiovascular risk.

In the 1970's it was noticed that the incidence of cardiovascular disease was higher in northern Sweden than anywhere else in the country and that for men it was amongst the highest in the world. The Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP) was set up in 1985 to address this and was later extended to include the entire country. The VIP included better food labelling, healthy information, cooking demonstrations and health examinations and counselling, including diet advice, and still continues today.

Evaluation of this program was combined with data from the WHO MONICA project which monitors cardiovascular disease risk factors. Researchers from Umeå University, University of Gothenburg, and The National Board of Welfare collaborated to review this information covering a 25 year period from 1986.

The impact of the VIP was clearly seen in the changing intake of fat and carbohydrate. By 1992 the fat intake for men had reduced by 3% for men and 4% for women and remained stable until 2005. Not only did fat intake reduce due to VIP but the types of fat changed, for example from butter to low fat spreads, which was mirrored by a decrease in cholesterol levels. After 2005 the levels of total and saturated fat intake began to increase, returning to levels above those in 1986, and the amount of complex carbohydrates eaten decreased. The timing of this matched the promotion of low GI diets in the media. Consequently cholesterol levels began to once more increase despite the introduction of cholesterol lowering medication.

Prof Ingegerd Johansson, who led this research, commented, "The association between nutrition and health is complex. It involves specific food components, interactions among those food components, and interactions with genetic factors and individual needs. While low carbohydrate/high fat diets may help short term weight loss, these results of this Swedish study demonstrate that long term weight loss is not maintained and that this diet increases blood cholesterol which has a major impact on risk of cardiovascular disease."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our obesity / weight loss / fitness section for the latest news on this subject. Associations among 25-year trends in diet, cholesterol and BMI from 140,000 observations in men and women in Northern Sweden Ingegerd Johansson, Lena Nilsson, Birgitta Stegmayr, Kurt Boman, Göran Hallmans and Anna Winkvist Nutrition Journal (in press)
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Obese Patients Face Increased Risk Of Kidney Damage After Heart Surgery

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cardiovascular / cardiology section for the latest news on this subject. Study co-authors include Mias Pretorius, MD, Jonathan Schildcrout, PhD, Nathaniel Mercaldo, John Byrne, MD, T. Alp Ikizler, MD, Nancy J. Brown, MD (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine).

Disclosures: The authors reported no financial disclosures.

The article, entitled "Obesity and Oxidative Stress Predict Acute Kidney Injury Following Cardiac Surgery," will appear online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org/ on May 24, 2012, doi: 10.1681/ASN.2011090940.

The content of this article does not reflect the views or opinions of The American Society of Nephrology (ASN). Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the author(s). ASN does not offer medical advice. All content in ASN publications is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions, or adverse effects. This content should not be used during a medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health care provider if you have any questions about a medical condition, or before taking any drug, changing your diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment. Do not ignore or delay obtaining professional medical advice because of information accessed through ASN. Call 911 or your doctor for all medical emergencies.

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Better Outcomes In Obese Heart Failure Patients

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 05 Jul 2012 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Better Outcomes In Obese Heart Failure Patients

A slim waist and normal weight are usually associated with better health outcomes, but that's not always the case with heart failure patients, according to a new UCLA study.

Researchers found that in both men and women with advanced heart failure, obesity - as indicated by a high body mass index (BMI) - and a higher waist circumference were factors that put them at significantly less risk for adverse outcomes.

The study findings are published in the July 1 online issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Heart failure affects 5.8 million people, including 2.5 million women. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of heart failure patients are overweight or obese.

Women and men are known to have differences in body composition and body-fat distribution, and this study is one of the first to specifically assess the impact of BMI and waist circumference on women and compare it with men.

The findings also offer further insight into an observed phenomenon in chronic heart failure known as the "obesity paradox": Obesity is a known risk factor for developing heart disease and heart failure, but once heart failure has manifested, being overweight may provide some protective benefits.

"The study provides us with more insight about how both genders of heart failure patients may be impacted by the obesity paradox," said senior author Dr. Tamara Horwich, an assistant professor of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Heart failure may prove to be one of the few health conditions where extra weight may prove to be protective."

For the study, researchers analyzed data on advanced heart failure patients treated at UCLA Medical Center from 1983 to 2011. The team assessed 2,718 patients who had their BMI measured at the beginning of heart failure treatment and 469 patients who had their waist circumference measured at the beginning of treatment.

Using standardized measures, the researchers identified men or women as having a high BMI if they were greater or equal to 25 kg/m² - this included both overweight patients (25 to 29.9 kg/m²) and obese patients (30 kg/m² or greater).

For men, a high waist circumference was considered 40 inches (102 cm) or greater, and for women, 37 inches (88 cm) or greater. This assessment also included patients who were either overweight or obese.

At the two-year follow-up, researchers used statistical analysis and found that in men, a high waist circumference and high BMI were associated with event-free survival from adverse outcomes like death, the need for a heart transplant, or the need for ventricular assist device placement.

Women with a higher BMI also had better outcomes than their normal-weight counterparts, and women with a high waist circumference also trended toward improved outcomes.

Both men and women with a normal BMI and waist circumference were at a substantially higher risk for these adverse outcomes. In fact, a normal BMI was associated with significantly worse outcomes - a 34 percent higher risk in men and a 38 percent higher risk in women - than a high BMI.

Normal waist circumference was also associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in both genders, with men's risk doubling and women's risk tripling.

"We knew that obesity might provide a protective benefit for heart failure patients, but we didn't know whether this obesity paradox applied specifically to women with heart failure, as well as men - and it does," Horwich said.

BMI measurement has been used for years as a surrogate measure of body fat. Since it measures all mass - including lean muscle, which weighs more than fat - the measurement may not be specific for total body fat. Waist circumference is a newer addition that may provide a more direct connection to body fat, since it measures the fat accumulated around the belly.

"The study also demonstrates how BMI and waist circumference can be used together to provide a more accurate measure of fat in the body to help determine obesity and assess risk," said the study's first author, Adrienne L. Clark, a resident in the department of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine.

According to Horwich, no one knows exactly why the obesity paradox exists for heart failure patients, but there are several possible explanations.

Being underweight is traditionally associated with a poorer prognosis in heart failure patients. Obesity may be at the other end of the spectrum, and patients may thereby benefit from increased muscle mass, as well as metabolic reserves in the form of fatty tissue. In addition, increased levels of serum lipoproteins that are associated with increased body fat may play an anti-inflammatory role, neutralizing circulating toxins and inflammation-related proteins.

Obese patients also present at an earlier stage of heart failure due to increased symptoms and functional impairment caused by excess body weight, so they may be getting help sooner, which also could improve outcomes, the researchers said.

The next steps in research will include larger studies with longer follow-up times, as well as a closer look at the physiology behind the obesity paradox.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our heart disease section for the latest news on this subject. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (grant 1K23HL085097).
Jennifer Chyu of the UCLA Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, was also a study author.
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Coffee In Moderation May Benefit Heart Slightly

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Hypertension;  Diabetes
Article Date: 27 Jun 2012 - 3:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Coffee In Moderation May Benefit Heart Slightly

New research from the US suggests drinking coffee in moderation, that is four European cups (equivalent to two 8-ounce American servings) per day, may protect slightly against heart failure, contradicting the guidelines of the American Heart Association that currently warn against regular coffee consumption.

You can read a paper on the study, by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, in the 26 June issue of the journal Circulation Heart Failure.

Some previous studies have suggested there is a protective heart benefit from regular coffee consumption, while others have found no such link. So in this new study, the researchers decided to look at the data differently, and shift the debate from a question of "yes" or "no" to "how much".

Lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky, a post-doctoral fellow in the cardiovascular epidemiological unit at BIDMC, told the press:

"Our results did show a possible benefit, but like with so many other things we consume, it really depends on how much coffee you drink."

Mostofsky and colleagues analyzed data from five studies, four carried out in Sweden the other in Finland, and found a statistically significant J-shaped curve linking coffee consumption and heart failure risk (the lowest risk being at the bottom of the curve).

Altogether, the self-reported coffee consumption data came from 140,220 participants who experienced a total of 6,522 heart failure events.

A number of recent studies have examined the health effects of coffee. The researchers found that compared with drinking no coffee at all (the start of the J-curve, on the left), participants who drank four European cups (or two 8-ounce American servings) per day had an 11% lower risk of heart failure (the bottom of the J-shaped curve).

This dose-response analysis showed that at higher levels of consumption this benefit gradually disappeared, until at five European cups, there was no benefit and at more than five cups a day, there may be potential for harm, compared to drinking no coffee at all (coinciding with where the right-hand side of the J-curve rises higher than the left).

The results showed no evidence that the link between coffee and heart failure risk varied by sex or by history of heart attack or diabetes.

Although Mostofsky and colleagues did not investigate why moderate coffee consumption appears to offer modest protection against heart failure, they speculate it could have something to do with how coffee consumption affects diabetes and high blood pressure, two of the biggest risk factors for heart failure.

Senior author Murray Mittleman, a physician at BIDMC's Cardiovascular Institute, said:

"There is a good deal of research showing that drinking coffee lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes."

"It stands to reason that if you lower the risk of diabetes, you also lower the risk of heart failure," he added.

Another reason could be studies have consistently shown that light coffee and caffeine consumption raises blood pressure.

"But at that moderate range of consumption, people tend to develop a tolerance where drinking coffee does not pose a risk and may even be protective against elevated blood pressure," said Mittleman, who is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of BIDMC's cardiovascular epidemiological research program.

The data in this study did not allow the researchers to look at differences in coffee strength, nor to compare caffeinated against decaffeinated coffee.

Mostofsky said it was clear this link needs further investigation:

"But in the short run, this data may warrant a change to the guidelines to reflect that coffee consumption, in moderation, may provide some protection from heart failure," she urged.

The research revealed today follows a number of recent studies linking coffee consumption with health benefits. An observational study published in Archives of Internal Medicine in September 2011 suggested that coffee may lower the risk of depression in older females, whilst other research has suggested benefits related to skin cancer and endometrial cancer and diabetes. Two further studies have suggested that coffee may provide health benefits connected with the brain, in particular Alzheimer's Disease and memory function.

Written by Catharine Paddock
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our cardiovascular / cardiology section for the latest news on this subject. "Habitual Coffee Consumption and Risk of Heart Failure: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis"; Elizabeth Mostofsky, Megan S. Rice, Emily B. Levitan, and Murray A. Mittleman; Circ Heart Fail. published online before print 26 June 2012; DOI:10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.112.967299; Link to Abstract.
Additional source: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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posted by Amazed! on 28 Jun 2012 at 1:45 am

First it was "lowers death rate", then it was "may help you lose weight", then "prevents onset of Alzheimer's" and now this about heart failure! Coffee is becoming the new life giving wonder drug!

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'Coffee In Moderation May Benefit Heart Slightly'

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The Positive Effects Of Heart Rehabilitation Programs

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy;  Cholesterol
Article Date: 07 May 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
'The Positive Effects Of Heart Rehabilitation Programs'

Research conducted at the University of Granada has demonstrated the efficiency of a heart rehabilitation program aimed at patients suffering from heart disease. The authors of this study affirm that it is essential that heart rehabilitation programs aimed at cardiac patients are established. In Spain, a low percentage of cardiac patients participate in this type of program, as compared to the rest of Europe.

The study included a sample of 200 patients suffering from heart disease, who were members of the Association of Cardiac Patients of Granada, Spain. Subjects were assigned to two groups: the intervention group participated in a heart rehabilitation program conducted by the Association mentioned above, while the second group was excluded from the rehabilitation program. Both groups underwent a clinical-functional study and answered a survey on risk factors associated with their heart disease.

The results obtained revealed that the subjects who took part of the heart rehabilitation program presented lower total cholesterol and plasma triglyceride levels, as compared to the other group. Furthermore, the subjects in the intervention group exhibited healthier eating habits and did physical exercise more frequently than subjects in the other group. Therefore, the heart rehabilitation program developed by these researchers "helps enhance certain risk factors for heart disease, and encourages patients to have healthy eating and life habits, which is essential for the prevention of heart diseases".

Leading Cause of Death

Heart diseases represent the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries as Spain. The high prevalence and economic cost of heart diseases require the implementation of prevention programs, the promotion of healthy habits, and control of risk factors for heart diseases. Heart rehabilitation programs are essential to improve secondary prevention of heart diseases.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our heart disease section for the latest news on this subject. This study was conducted by María Esther Sánchez Entrena, a member of the Physiology Department of the University of Granada School of Pharmacy, and coordinated by professors Magdalena López Frías, Teresa Nestares Pleguezuelo and Carlos De Teresa Galván. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Centro Andaluz de Medicina del Deporte and Department of Health of Granada City Hall. The results of this study have been partially published in the journal Annals of Nutrition&Metabolism.
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Improving Heart Health With Hot Pepper Compound

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Cholesterol;  Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 29 Mar 2012 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
'Improving Heart Health With Hot Pepper Compound'

The food that inspires wariness is on course for inspiring even more wonder from a medical standpoint as scientists report the latest evidence that chili peppers are a heart-healthy food with potential to protect against the No. 1 cause of death in the developed world. The report was part of the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, being held here this week.

The study focused on capsaicin and its fiery-hot relatives, a piquant family of substances termed "capsaicinoids." The stuff that gives cayennes, jalapenos, habaneros and other chili peppers their heat, capsaicin already has an established role in medicine in rub-on-the-skin creams to treat arthritis and certain forms of pain. Past research suggested that spicing food with chilies can lower blood pressure in people with that condition, reduce blood cholesterol and ease the tendency for dangerous blood clots to form.

"Our research has reinforced and expanded knowledge about how these substances in chilies work in improving heart health," said Zhen-Yu Chen, Ph.D., who presented the study. "We now have a clearer and more detailed portrait of their innermost effects on genes and other mechanisms that influence cholesterol and the health of blood vessels. It is among the first research to provide that information."

The team found, for instance, that capsaicin and a close chemical relative boost heart health in two ways. They lower cholesterol levels by reducing accumulation of cholesterol in the body and increasing its breakdown and excretion in the feces. They also block action of a gene that makes arteries contract, restricting the flow of blood to the heart and other organs. The blocking action allows more blood to flow through blood vessels.

"We concluded that capsaicinoids were beneficial in improving a range of factors related to heart and blood vessel health," said Chen, a professor of food and nutritional science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "But we certainly do not recommend that people start consuming chilies to an excess. A good diet is a matter of balance. And remember, chilies are no substitute for the prescription medications proven to be beneficial. They may be a nice supplement, however, for people who find the hot flavor pleasant."

Chen and his colleagues turned to hamsters for the study, animals that serve as stand-ins for humans in research that cannot be done in people. They gave the hamsters high-cholesterol diets, divided them into groups, and supplemented each group's food with either no capsaicinoids (the control group) or various amounts of capsaicinoids. The scientists then analyzed the effects.

In addition to reducing total cholesterol levels in the blood, capsaicinoids reduced levels of the so-called "bad" cholesterol (which deposits into blood vessels), but did not affect levels of so-called "good" cholesterol. The team found indications that capsaicinoids may reduce the size of deposits that already have formed in blood vessels, narrowing arteries in ways that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

Capsaicinoids also blocked the activity of a gene that produces cyclooxygenase-2, a substance that makes the muscles around blood vessels constrict. By blocking it, muscles can relax and widen, allowing more blood to flow.

Abstract

Capsaicinoids are the active ingredients in chili pepper. The present study was to investigate the effect of dietary capsaicinoids on functionality of blood vessel, metabolism of cholesterol as well as gene expression of transporters, enzymes and receptors involved in cholesterol homeostasis. In brief, male hamsters were divided into five groups and fed diets containing 0%, 0.010%, 0.015%, 0.020% and 0.030% capsaicinoids. It was found that capsaicinoids lowered serum total cholesterol (TC), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and triacylglycerols (TAG) with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol being unchanged. Capsaicinoids decreased the atherosclerotic plaque in the four experimental groups compared with the control hamsters. Results on fecal analysis showed that capsaicinoids not only increased the excretion of total neutral sterols but also decreased the ratio of serum campesterol : cholesterol, indicating it decreased cholesterol absorption. In addition, capsaicinoids increased the fecal acidic sterol excretion possibly mediated by up-regulation of cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase and down-regulation of liver X receptor alpha. Capsaicinoids could improve the endothelium-dependent relaxations and reduce the endothelium-dependent contractions by inhibiting the gene expression of COX-2 with COX-1 expression being unaltered. It was concluded that capsaicinoids were beneficial in improving lipoprotein profile and aortic function.

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