Is l-arginine dangerous after heart attack?
Recent headlines declare that l-arginine
is dangerous for your heart if taken
after a heart attack. Is this true? Should you stop your l-arginine?
Nitric oxide is the master control molecule over
arterial health. It regulates tone (dilation vs. constriction),
inflammation, cell adhesion, and protein production. Prescription
medications that increase nitric oxide have yielded important treatments
for erectile dysfunction (Viagra®), high blood pressure (ACE inhibitors
like lisinopril and captopril), and most recently Bidil® (a combination
of hydralazine and nitroglycerin). The ACE inhibitors and Bidil have
both proven useful for reducing breathless symptoms and death from heart
failure, and for improving heart muscle strength. Much of this benefit
is believed to develop from the nitric oxide-enhancing effects of these
drugs.1,2
A University of Maryland group recently explored whether the nitric
oxide increasing properties of l-arginine exerts similar benefits. L-arginine,
after all, is the body’s immediate source for nitric oxide. In their
VINTAGE MI study, 153 participants were enrolled, all of whom had
suffered a recent heart attack. Half of the participants were assigned
to receive three grams three times per day of l-arginine; half received
placebo. To the surprise of the University of Maryland researchers, over
the next several months six deaths occurred in the group receiving l-arginine,
none in the placebo group.3
The media, always hungry for a sensational headline, seized hold of
this, declaring l-arginine a deadly supplement.
Should we panic and stop l-arginine based on this report?
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