Introduction: Primary cardiovascular (CV) prevention may be achieved by lifestyle/nutrition changes, although a relevant role is now emerging for specific, functional foods and nutraceutical compounds (NCs). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of NCs in lowering blood pressure (BP) and improving lipid profile, when added to diet and lifestyle management versus diet alone in a group of patients with hypertension (HT) and hypercholesterolemia (HCh) with low CV risk.
Methods: Sixty-six patients with HT and HCh with grade 1 essential HT (mean age 56.0 ± 4.6 years) without history of CV diseases or organ damage were analyzed. These subjects were started on one tablet of an NC-containing red yeast rice, policosanol, berberine, folic acid and coenzyme Q10 once daily for 6 months and were age and gender matched with subjects following a diet program. Differences in clinic BP, 24-h ambulatory BP (24 h-ABPM), serum total cholesterol, low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C) and triglyceride values were compared by analysis of variance.
Results: In the treatment group, a significant reduction of systolic 24 h-ABPM (141.6 ± 6.4 vs. 136.2 ± 4.8 mmHg; p < 0.05) and pulse pressure 24 h-ABPM (52.6 ± 7.2 vs. 47.3 ± 5.4 mmHg; p < 0.05) was found at the end of follow-up. A reduction of total cholesterol (-19.2%), LDL-C (-17.4%) and triglycerides (-16.3%) was observed (p < 0.001 for all); HDL-C remained unchanged. No difference was found in the control group.
Conclusions: The tested NCs was found to be safe, well tolerated and effective in reducing mean 24-h systolic and 24-h pulse pressure and in improving lipid pattern.