Do "antioxidants" contribute to heart health?

Do "antioxidants" contribute to heart health?

Rose Marie Robertson, MD, FAHA, FACC, FESC (Chief Science Officer and Past President of the Board of American Heart Association) gives expert video advice on: How is alcohol abuse related to heart conditions?; Is red wine good for my heart?; What is the "French paradox"? and more...

There has been a great deal of interest in antioxidants and their potential effect in heart disease since we discovered that LDL, the bad cholesterol, is actually oxidized as it is taken into artery walls. That oxidation is an important facet of it becoming part of the atherosclerotic plaque, the cholesterol plaque, hardening of the arteries. It would make sense then that antioxidants would deoxidize something and that might be of benefit. Unfortunately, antioxidants haven't been shown to have an effect in reducing coronary disease, even when they are used in patients who have demonstrable coronary disease. So, they don't seem to prevent another episode and in some circumstances they actually can have a harmful effect.