IANS:
Turmeric may help lower
heart attack
risk in people post bypass surgery, thanks to curcumin, the yellow pigment
present in the spice which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Bypass surgery improves blood supply to the
heart muscle.
However, during the surgery that is usually performed with the heart
stopped, the organ can be damaged by prolonged lack of blood flow,
increasing the patient's risk of heart attack.
The new findings suggest that curcumins may
reduce such risks when added to traditional drug treatments.
The results need to be confirmed through
further research, said Wanwarang Wongcharoen from Chiang Mai University in
Thailand, who led the study, the American Journal of Cardiology reported.
Researchers at the Thai university studied
121 patients who had non-emergency bypass surgery between 2009 and 2011.
Half the patients were given one-gram curcumin capsules to take four times a
day, starting three days before their surgery and continuing for five days
afterwards. The other half took the same number of drug-free
placebo capsules.
The researchers found that during their
post-bypass hospital stays, 13 per cent of the patients who'd been taking
curcumins had a heart attack, compared to 30 per cent in the placebo group.
After accounting for any initial pre-surgery
differences, Wongcharoen and his colleagues calculated that people on
curcumins had a 65 per cent lower chance of heart attack.
"It's very, very encouraging," said Bharat
Aggarwal of the study. Aggarwal works with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, Texas, which studies the use of curcumins in cancer therapy,
according to the Daily Mail.
According to researchers, it is likely that
the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin may have helped
limit heart damage in the patients.