Multivitamin May Ward Off Risks of Heart Attack

Multivitamin and mineral supplements have been shown by previous studies to significantly lower the risk of myocardial infarction, and that the combined use of multivitamins and supplements of vitamin A, C, or E may yield a 25% lower risk of coronary heart disease mortality.  Susanne Rautiainen, from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), and colleagues assessed the relationship between multivitamin use and myocardial infarction in a population of over 30,000 Swedish women ages 49 to 83 years. Among those women with no history of cardiovascular disease, the daily use of multivitamins alone (as compared with no use of supplements at all) was associated with a 27 % lower risk of myocardial infarction.  Additionally, women using multivitamins in combination with other supplements were at a 30% lower risk of myocardial infarction. The team concludes that: “The use of multivitamins was inversely associated with [myocardial infarction], especially long-term use among women with no [cardiovascular disease].”