Niacin (vitamin B3) shown to boost levels of good cholesterol, regardless of statin drugs

Saying that statin drugs combined with a vitamin supplement is good for heart health is sort of like saying Frosted Flakes served with fresh strawberries is a nutritious breakfast. The only nutrition comes from the strawberries, not the sugary cereal. Similarly, the only health benefit here comes from the B vitamins, not the potentially deadly statin drugs.

• Adding a high dose of niacin to a statin drug slowed the progression of artery disease in people with known heart disease, according to a new study that may prompt more doctors to prescribe the B vitamin.
• It has been known for years that niacin (vitamin B3) can increase levels of HDL cholesterol, the good kind.
• To measure that, doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center used ultrasound imaging of the carotid artery as a surrogate for coronary artery disease, a method that has proven accurate in the past.
• The researchers then took a group of 167 patients with known heart disease and put them on a cholesterol-lowering statin or a statin and a 1,000-milligram, extended-release niacin pill.
• After one year, those taking niacin had a 21% increase in their HDL cholesterol, up from an average of 39 milligrams per deciliter to 47 mg/dl.
• Lead author Allen Taylor, director of cardiovascular research at Walter Reed, said the study was the first to document a benefit in artery disease when comparing statins alone with a statin and niacin.
• Major guidelines still do not recommend niacin for treatment or prevention of heart disease.
• However, some cardiologists in specialized clinics have been prescribing it for their patients with low HDL cholesterol, said Daniel Rader, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
• "We do it based on faith and that low HDL is a bad thing," said Rader, who was not associated with the study.
• Large trials that look at whether niacin actually can reduce heart attacks and strokes are still needed, said Sidney Smith, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science in Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.