A recent study with Pycnogenol®, a proprietary patented water extract of the bark of the French maritime pine from Horphag Research (Hoboken, NJ), for heart attack patients was accepted for publication in the European Heart Journal.

The study, carried out at the Department of Cardiology at University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, investigated the effects of Pycnogenol in double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over fashion in patients who previously suffered heart attacks. All patients were taking several medications to compensate for blood pressure, cholesterol and thrombosis problems. Even though the medications kept all risk factors under excellent control, Pycnogenol significantly restored the ability of arteries to dilate, while the placebo did not.

“This study is phenomenal because it demonstrates that a dietary supplement, Pycnogenol, can provide a health benefit to someone who has cardiovascular health issues, which the prescription medications they take cannot,” said Dr. Frank Schonlau, scientific director with Horphag Research and Horphag Research (USA) Inc. (Hoboken, NJ). “Most certainly Pycnogenol cannot and shall not replace life-saving medications. Yet, it is striking that Pycnogenol can restore natural, body-own mechanisms (endothelial function) to regulate artery dilatation to a quantifiable extent in people who entirely depend on medications to keep their cardiovascular system functional.”