Abstract
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of Allicor, an Allium sativum (garlic) preparation with prolonged activity, on 10-year prognostic risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), acute myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden death in patients with elevated and high risk of CHD. 79 patients with elevated and high risk of CHD were included in a double blind randomized placebo-controlled study. They underwent multifactor evaluation of cardiovascular risk by algorithms based on the results of Framingham and Munster studies. Prolonged (12 months) administration of Allicor significantly reduced the multifactor risk, which was demonstrated by a 13.2% (p = 0.005) reduction of prognostic 10-year risk of CHD in men, and a 7.1% (p = 0.040) reduction of the same parameter in women. Prognostic 10-year risk of MI and sudden death in men was reduced by 26.1% (p = 0.025) and did not change significantly in women. In men the main factor of cardiovascular risk reduction was the decrease of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein concentration by 23.5 +/- 6.6 mg/dl (p = 0.004), and in women - the increase of high-density lipoprotein level by 2.8 +/- 1.5 mg/dl (p = 0.040). The results of the study demonstrate that prolonged Allicor therapy can be applied to the large category of patients who are in need of atherosclerosis prevention.
