Melatonin in Cardiovascular Diseases

Alberto Dominguez-Rodriguez, Pedro Abreu-Gonzalez and Russel J. Reiter

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in Spain, with ischemic heart disease being the main cause of cardiovascular deaths.

Solid evidence exists that melatonin influences the cardiovascular system. Melatonin is a multifunctional indolamine that counteracts virtually all pathophysiologic steps and displays significant beneficial actions against ROS/RNS-induced cellular toxicity. This protection is related to melatonin’s potent antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.

Patients with coronary artery disease usually have a low endogenous melatonin production. The melatonin levels in the blood depends on the severity of the disease. I.e. Patients with low endogenous melatonin production have a significantly higher risk of heart attack and experience sudden death more frequently.
In this article, Alberto Dominguez-Rodriguez, Pedro Abreu-Gonzalez and Russel J. Reiter have drawn an overview of the effect of melatonin analyzing various studies on melatonin which were conducted at the research institutes of the University Hospital La Cuesta and the University of Laguna in Tenerife.

They have come to the conclusion that melatonin exerts a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and prevents diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, ischemia and reperfusion. At the same time it is completely harmless and the researchers suggest that further scientific research on the effect of melatonin is worthwhile.

Source:

Revista Espanola de Cardiologia