Turmeric lowers heart attack risk post surgery

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 riskof heart attack.
The new findings suggest that curcumins may reducesuch 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 and2011. 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 beentaking 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 Centerin 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.

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