Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Alternative medicine

By Mayo Clinic staff

Two supplements may help improve your angina treatment:

  • L-arginine
  • L-carnitine

Both of these supplements may help reduce the swelling in your arteries that causes them to narrow, which contributes to high blood pressure and chest pain. Before adding either of these supplements to your treatment, talk to your doctor. Supplements can interact with other medications, causing dangerous side effects.

References
  1. Angina. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Angina/Angina_All.html. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  2. Angina pectoris. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4472. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  3. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Steps to heart health: Angina and heart attack. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2006.
  4. ACC/AHA management of patients with unstable angina/non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction - Pocket guideline. American College of Cardiology and the American heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1194979355638UA-NSTEMI.Text.Final.pdf. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  5. Patient information sheet: Ranolazine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/InfoSheets/patient/ranolazine.pdf. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  6. L-arginine. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  7. Ruel M, et al. Concomitant treatment with oral L-arginine improves the efficacy of surgical angiogenesis in patients with severe diffuse coronary artery disease: The Endothelial Modulation in Angiogenic Therapy randomized controlled trial. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2008;135:762.
  8. L-carnitine. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  9. Ferrari R, et al. Therapeutic effects of l-carnitine and propionyl-l-carnitine on cardiovascular diseases: A review. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2004;1033:79.

DS00994

June 25, 2009

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger