Would this have prevented the plaque buildup in my arteries?
Tea, flavonoids, and cardiovascular health: endothelial protection
- Davide Grassi,
- Giovambattista Desideri,
- Paolo Di Giosia,
- Martina De Feo,
- Emanuela Fellini,
- Paola Cheli,
- Livia Ferri, and
- Claudio Ferri
+ Author Affiliations
Abstract
Several studies have suggested that tea
consumption might protect against the development and progression of
cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of
morbidity and mortality worldwide. The endothelium
plays a pivotal role in arterial homeostasis. Reduced nitric oxide (NO)
bioavailability with endothelial dysfunction is
considered the earliest step in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Endothelial
dysfunction has been considered an important and
independent predictor of future development of cardiovascular risk and
events.
The association between brachial NO-dependent
flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and cardiovascular disease risk has been
investigated
in several prospective studies, suggesting that FMD
is inversely associated with future cardiovascular events. Dietary
flavonoids
and tea
consumption have been described to improve endothelial function and FMD.
A proposed mechanism by which dietary flavonoids
could affect FMD is that they improve the
bioactivity of the endothelium-derived vasodilator NO by enhancing NO
synthesis
or by decreasing superoxide-mediated NO breakdown.
This could be of clinical relevance and may suggest a mechanistic
explanation
for the reduced risk of cardiovascular events and
stroke observed among tea drinkers in the different studies. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the relation between tea consumption and cardiovascular disease, with a focus on clinical implications resulting from the beneficial effects of tea consumption on endothelial function.
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