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Research is showing that arginine provides some very positive benefits to the cardiovascular system. Reducing blood pressure: Several recent studies confirming arginine's antihypertensive effect have piqued public curiosity about this supplement. For example, in a 1998 Italian study, daily oral doses significantly reduced systolic blood pressure in patients with borderline hypertension. Arginine also appears to benefit individuals with high cholesterol. In 1997, Stanford researchers showed that in people with elevated cholesterol, arginine reduced the tendency of blood platelets to clump, potentially lessening the risk of heart attacks and strokes. An earlier
study at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore found that two weeks of arginine
therapy reduced total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol but had no effect on
HDL ("good") cholesterol in healthy elderly volunteers. Relieving angina: A 1998 Mayo
Clinic study found that patients with early heart disease who took
arginine supplements for six months had better blood flow to the heart
and less angina compared with a placebo group. And Polish scientists
showed that arginine increased the exercise capacity of patients with
angina who had had a heart attack. Improving function in heart
disease: Arginine apparently can also help people with heart failure or blood vessel disease. For instance, University of Minnesota researchers reported that taking arginine for six weeks improved blood flow and walking distance in people with heart failure, and a 1998 German study found that it helped those with severe intermittent claudication (leg pain associated with atherosclerosis of arteries in the leg). |