Vitamin C appears to reduce early recurrence of a type of abnormal health rhythm known as atrial fibrillation, after patients undergo cardioversion. Cardioversion is a procedure used to convert an irregular heart rhythm to a normal heart rhythm by applying electric shock.
Vitamin C also appears to reduce inflammation that accompanies this condition.
Atrial fibrillation recurrence may be due to electrophysiological changes in the chambers of the heart, known as atrial remodeling. Previous animal studies have shown vitamin C can help prevent such remodeling, and the vitamin has been shown to reduce atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery.
To investigate whether vitamin C reduces atrial fibrillation recurrence, the researchers divided 44 atrial fibrillation patients into two groups: (standard therapy plus oral vitamin C, or (standard treatment only. The Vitamin C group received a 2-gram dose 12 hours before cardioversion and 500 mg twice daily for the next seven days.
Only one (4.5% ) of the patients given vitamin C had a relapse of atrial fibrillation, whereas eight (36.3%) of patients not given the vitamin did. In this study, vitamin C supplementation reduced both atrial fibrillation recurrence and inflammation.
If you or a loved one has heart rhythm problems, please consult with one of our physicians. In addition to vitamin C, we have some excellent treatment options to offer you.
Source: Korantzopoulos, P et al, Oral vitamin C administration reduces early recurrence rates after electrical cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation and attenuates associated inflammation, J Cardiol. 2005 Jul 10;102(2):321-6.