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A Thought on Heart Health

G-FLUX

Registered User
Jul 27, 2017
98
0
0
You guys know as passionate I am about pushing the envelope with training, nutrition, and pharmacology, I believe in doing just as much with our health supplement stack. One of the most important aspects of health supplementation is obviously heart health supplements...one in particular, should be in everyone's protocol year round, REGARDLESS of how hard your pushing or not...we're talking about...

Pycnogenol

Pycnogenol is the patented work of Pine Bark Extract standardized to 65-75% Procyanidin (consisted of catechins similar to green tea.) Its main mechanism of action is increasing endothelium relaxation. This causes an increase in HDL, a lowering in LDL, a decrease in overall cholesterol, increased vasodilation, and improved circulation. But even more importantly is its ability to improve left ventricular ejection fraction which, we as bodybuilders, know is extremely important. It is also one of the only compounds that has been used extensively with heart failure patients. It is not a cheap product but if you can afford 100-200mgs per day, your heart and body is going to thank you long term (because guess what...it ALSO PREVENTS OXIDATIVE STRESS!!!)

Effects of Pycnogenol on endothelial function in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study.
Abstract
AIMS:
Extracts from pine tree bark containing a variety of flavonoids have been used in traditional medicine. Pycnogenol is a proprietary bark extract of the French maritime pine tree (Pinus pinaster ssp. atlantica) that exerts antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-platelet effects. However, the effects of Pycnogenol on endothelial dysfunction, a precursor of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events, remain still elusive.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Twenty-three patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) completed this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study. Patients received Pycnogenol (200 mg/day) for 8 weeks followed by placebo or vice versa on top of standard cardiovascular therapy. Between the two treatment periods, a 2-week washout period was scheduled. At baseline and after each treatment period, endothelial function, non-invasively assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery using high-resolution ultrasound, biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, platelet adhesion, and 24 h blood pressure monitoring were evaluated. In CAD patients, Pycnogenol treatment was associated with an improvement of FMD from 5.3 ± 2.6 to 7.0 ± 3.1 (P < 0.0001), while no change was observed with placebo (5.4 ± 2.4 to 4.7 ± 2.0; P = 0.051). This difference between study groups was significant [estimated treatment effect 2.75; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.75, 3.75, P < 0.0001]. 15-F(2t)-Isoprostane, an index of oxidative stress, significantly decreased from 0.71 ± 0.09 to 0.66 ± 0.13 after Pycnogenol treatment, while no change was observed in the placebo group (mean difference 0.06 pg/mL with an associated 95% CI (0.01, 0.11), P = 0.012]. Inflammation markers, platelet adhesion, and blood pressure did not change after treatment with Pycnogenol or placebo.
CONCLUSION:
This study provides the first evidence that the antioxidant Pycnogenol improves endothelial function in patients with CAD by reducing oxidative stress.





Investigation of Pycnogenol® in combination with coenzymeQ10 in heart failure patients (NYHA II/III).
Abstract
AIM:
In this study we investigated benefits of a Pycnogenol - coenzyme Q10 combination (PycnoQ10) taken as an adjunct to medical treatment in stable heart failure patients. The aim of this single-blinded, 12-week observational study was to provide functional parameters such as exercise capacity, ejection fraction and distal edema.
METHODS:
The essential element for inclusion was a stable level of heart failure within the past three months and stable NYHA class II or III (6 months). The heart failure management was in accordance with AHA guidelines for "best treatment." The treatment and control groups were comparable at baseline. The mean age of the PycnoQ10-treated patients was 61.3+/-7.1 years and 62.1+/-3.7 in the control group. All patients were taking medication and most patients (>75%) used three or more drugs for heart failure treatment. There were two dropouts in the PycnoQ10 treatment group and 6 in the control group (5 NYHA III patients).
RESULTS:
Nine PycnoQ10 treated patients (out of 32) and 3 (out of 21) taking placebo improved NYHA class. Systolic and diastolic pressure as well as heart rate and respiratory rate were significantly lowered with PycnoQ10 as compared to the control group (P<0.05). No significant changes were observed in controls. Heart ejection fraction increased by 22.4% in the treatment group (P<0.05) versus 4.0% in controls. Walking distance on treadmill increased 3.3-fold in PycnoQ10 treated patients (P<0.05) but marginally improved in the control group. Distal edema decreased significantly in PycnoQ10 treated patients and only slightly in controls.
CONCLUSION:
The association of Pycnogenol and CoQ10 may offer an important therapeutic option with a very good tolerability that improves heart failure management without side effects.





Pycnogenol inhibits macrophage oxidative burst, lipoprotein oxidation, and hydroxyl radical-induced DNA damage.
Abstract
Pycnogenol (procyanidins extracted from Pinus maritima) has been reputed as a potent free-radical scavenger and an antioxidant phytochemical. We previously reported that pycnogenol prevents vascular endothelial cells from injury induced by an organic oxidant t-butyl hydroperoxide. In this study, we determined the effects of pycnogenol on (a) oxidative burst of macrophages, (b) oxidation of plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL), and (c) hydroxyl radical-induced breakage of plasmid DNA. Pycnogenol was incubated with J774 murine macrophages at 37 degrees C and 5% CO2 and oxidative burst was triggered by zymosan. The intensity of fluorescence was measured. Pycnogenol exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibition of oxidative burst. CuSO4 was used to oxidize human plasma LDL and the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was determined. Co-incubation with pycnogenol resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of LDL oxidation. Exposure of pBR322 plasmid DNA to iron/ascorbic acid system resulted in cleavage/damage of DNA by hydroxyl radical, measured by agarose gel electrophoresis. Pycnogenol significantly minimized this cleavage. The results indicate that pycnogenol exhibits an extensive antioxidant effect in all three in vitro systems.
 

rmtt

Donating Member
Jul 31, 2007
187
0
0
Great supplement! It's also been shown to significantly lower blood glucose levels in people with Type 2 diabetes in several studies.

My dad is a heart attack survivor and has diabetes....and I've had him supplementing with this for awhile.



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G-FLUX

Registered User
Jul 27, 2017
98
0
0
Great supplement! It's also been shown to significantly lower blood glucose levels in people with Type 2 diabetes in several studies.

My dad is a heart attack survivor and has diabetes....and I've had him supplementing with this for awhile.



Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

Ah thats great to hear! Glad he's doing well!

It definitely has some serious application for bodybuilders
 

AGGRO

Registered User
Oct 25, 2012
976
1
0
Pycnogenol is a great supplement. I also like ubiquinol, vitamin k, d-ribose, carnitine, magnesium.
 

odin

AnaSCI VET
Feb 2, 2007
1,769
0
0
Supplements can be great but they don't cancel out poor habits. I would recommend regular cardio, clean diet and smart aas usage.