Effects of Oral Antioxidant Cocktail in Cardiovascular Disease Patients

Title: Effects of oral antioxidant cocktail on vascular function and muscle function in cardiovascular disease patients Cardiovascular disease (CVD) generally refers to various conditions involving narrowed or blocked dysfunctional blood vessels that often lead to heart attack or stroke. One of the main contributors to blood vessel dysfunction is damage to the vascular endothelium. This often results from the accumulation of oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation due to a decrease in blood flow and oxygen transport to the body's organs and skeletal muscle. The body's natural antioxidant defense system cannot keep up with the high level of OS clearance necessary to maintain proper vascular homeostasis. Previous research has addressed the use of single antioxidants (e.g. vitamin E, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid) in CVD patients, but the use of a combination of antioxidants has yet to be examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of acute oral antioxidant cocktail administration (containing vitamin C, E, and alpha-lipoic acid) on oxidative stress, vascular function, autonomic function (heart rate variability), leg blood flow, leg muscle tissue oxygenation, and walking capacity in CVD patients. This is a parallel study design that will assess the effects of oral antioxidant cocktail administration on CVD patients ages 50-85. Subjects will be required to visit the lab 1 time. This visit will consist of 1) obtaining informed consent and questions, 2) baseline blood sampling and baseline measurements of endothelial function, arterial stiffness, autonomic function (heart rate variability), leg blood flow, leg muscle oxygenation, and a walking test, 3) first dose oral antioxidant cocktail administration followed by a 2-hour break, 4) second dose oral antioxidant cocktail 30 minutes after the first dose, 5) post-consumption blood sampling and measurements of endothelial function, arterial stiffness, autonomic function (heart rate variability), leg blood flow, leg muscle oxygenation, and a walking test.