Micronutrients Can Help Decrease Irregular Heartbeat (Arrhythmia)

In the US alone, 2.7 million people are at risk of a serious stroke and other health problems triggered by irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia.

The most common form of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which contributes to 80,000 deaths annually in the US. It is predicted that by 2050 as many as 12 million people will be affected by this condition. Treatment of atrial fibrillation is associated with tremendous cost for the patient and our health care system.

Atrial fibrillation occurs when the cells that create or conduct the biological electricity of the heart beat are not functioning properly. This can be manifested by rapid or irregular heartbeat, palpitation, dizziness and in severe cases shortness of breath, and chest pain. This condition affects the elderly, people with diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid abnormalities, or any type of heart disease, as well as younger athletes.

In any form of irregular heartbeat, you should consult with your doctor. However, do not be surprised that conventional medicine cannot always identify the root cause of this problem, mainly because it misses the most common cause of the malfunction in the metabolism of cardiac cells.

Considering the lack of satisfactory options, we evaluated the possibility that the dysfunction of the heart muscle cells may be a result of a long-term deficiency of vitamins and other micronutrients, which are the key carriers of bioenergy in the metabolism of heart cells. Such deficiency especially affects the “electrical” cells of the heart, which need large amounts of energy to create the electrical impulse for a heartbeat. Optimum bioenergy generation in cells depends on micronutrients such as, vitamin C, lysine, CoQ10, carnitine, the B vitamins, and many others.

Our double-blind placebo controlled multi-center clinical study* involved 131 patients between 18 and 70 who were taking anti-arrhythmic medications with little success. All participants were randomly divided into two groups: half took a multi-nutrient program daily and half an identically looking placebo. Evaluation after three and six months of the study showed that after just three months, about 23% of the participants taking supplements experienced a decrease of arrhythmic episodes and after six months, this number almost doubled to 43%. Other study participants in the supplement group experienced a significant decrease in the frequency of arrhythmic episodes. In addition, there was a remarkable improvement in their quality of life as shown by a specific questionnaire.

The results of this clinical study bring hope for millions of people suffering from atrial fibrillation and those who want to maintain healthy heart function.

* M. Rath, T. Kalinovsky, A. Niedzwiecki Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association 2005, 8(3): 19-25