Don’t bother with dietary supplements for heart health, study says

The study was funded via an unrestricted grant from AstraZeneca, which makes rosuvastatin. The company did not have any input on the methodology, data analysis and discussion of the clinical implications, according to the study.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations, including the study’s small sample size, and that its 28-study period might not capture the effect of supplements when used for a longer duration.

In a statement on Sunday, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the dietary supplement industry, said “supplements are not intended to replace medications or other medical treatments.”

“Dietary supplements are not intended to be quick fixes and their effects may not be revealed during the course of a study that only spans four weeks,” Andrea Wong, the group’s senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs, said in a statement.

Dr. James Cireddu, an invasive cardiologist University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute Cleveland, Ohio, said the work is going to be helpful.

“They did a nice job collecting data and looking at the outcomes,” said Cireddu, who did not work on the study. “It will probably resonate with patients. I get asked about supplements all the time. I think this does a nice job of providing evidence.”

Dr. Amit Khera, chair of the AHA Scientific Sessions programming committee, did not work on the research, but said he thought this was an important study to include in the presentations this year.

“I take care of patients every day with these exact questions. Patients always ask about the supplements in lieu of or in addition to statins,” said Khera, who is a professor and director of preventive cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “I think if you have high quality evidence and a well done study it is really critical to help inform patients about the value, or in this case the lack of value, for some of these supplements for cholesterol lowering.”

Statins have been around for more than 30 years and they’ve been studied in over 170,000 people, he said. Consistently, studies show that statins lower risk.

“The good news, we know statins work,” Khera said. “That does not mean they’re perfect. That doesn’t mean everyone needs one, but for those at higher risk, we know they work and that’s well proven. If you’re going to do something different you have to make sure it works.”

With supplements, he said he often sees misinformation online.

“I think that people are always looking for something ‘natural’ but you know there’s a lot of issues with that terminology and most important we should ask do they work? That’s what this study does,” Khera adds. “It’s important to ask, are you taking something that is proven, and if you’re doing that and it’s not, is that in lieu of proven treatment. It’s a real concern.”

-cnn