Heart disease remains the leading cause of death across the world. Every year, millions of people die from heart attacks, strokes, and other diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels.
Although doctors have made great progress in preventing and treating heart disease, it is still one of the biggest health challenges. Scientists continue to search for new and better ways to keep arteries healthy and lower the risk of serious heart problems.
One of the main causes of heart disease is a condition called atherosclerosis. This happens when fatty deposits, known as plaque, slowly build up inside the walls of arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
Over many years, plaque makes these blood vessels narrower and harder. As a result, less blood can reach important organs such as the heart and brain. If a plaque suddenly breaks open, it can cause a blood clot that blocks blood flow completely, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
A major reason plaque develops is dyslipidemia. This medical term means that a person has unhealthy levels of fats in the blood, including high cholesterol and triglycerides.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that the body needs in small amounts, but too much of the wrong type can damage blood vessels. Triglycerides are another type of fat that stores extra energy. Nearly half of adults have unhealthy blood fat levels, putting many people at greater risk of heart disease.
Doctors usually prescribe medicines such as statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce blood fat levels. These treatments can greatly lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes by slowing the growth of plaque and making existing plaques more stable.
However, they generally do not remove plaque that has already formed inside the arteries. Because of this, researchers have been looking for new ways to reduce or even reverse plaque buildup.
Now, scientists have made an unexpected discovery involving manganese, a mineral that people normally need only in very small amounts. Manganese is found naturally in foods such as whole grains, nuts, beans, leafy vegetables, and tea. It helps the body build strong bones, supports normal metabolism, and allows many important enzymes to work properly.
Researchers found that manganese may also affect the way fats travel through the body. Their studies suggest that higher amounts of manganese can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.
This finding surprised the research team because manganese has never been considered a common treatment for heart disease.
The scientists discovered that manganese changes the way tiny fat-carrying particles, called lipoproteins, are made and transported. These particles use a system inside cells known as COPII to move cholesterol and other fats through the body.
When manganese attaches to the COPII system, it changes how this process works. The researchers found that the effect followed what scientists call a bell-shaped response. This means that manganese worked best within a certain range. Too little had little effect, while the right amount produced the strongest reduction in blood fats.
When the researchers tested this approach in laboratory mice with heart disease, they saw a large drop in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Even more importantly, plaque inside the animals’ arteries became much smaller. These results suggest that manganese could one day become part of a new treatment for atherosclerosis.
The research was led by Dr. Xiao Wang, who said the findings open an exciting new direction for heart disease research. However, he also stressed that much more work is needed before manganese can be recommended for people.
Results from animal studies often do not produce the same benefits in humans. Future clinical trials will need to show that manganese is both safe and effective before doctors can consider using it as a treatment.
For now, experts continue to recommend proven ways to protect heart health. Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and fish, limiting foods high in saturated fat and added sugar, staying physically active, avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and keeping blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar under control remain the best ways to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The new discovery gives scientists hope that future treatments may do more than simply slow plaque growth. They may eventually help remove harmful plaque from arteries, lowering the risk of heart attacks and strokes even further.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
The research was published in the journal Life Metabolism.
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