Question: I am a 55-year-old male with hypertension that is controlled with Hyzaar. I have read many articles on coronary health which now leave me confused. I daily take a multivitamin and sometimes I take supplements of B vitamins and CoQ-10.

How do I find out what supplements I may or not need from a professional who has no ties to the supplement industry? Are there any benefits of supplementation with my prescription for Hyzaar to help treat my hypertension?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Hyzaar is a blood pressure combination tablet containing a diuretic (water pill) with an angiotensin II receptor blocker (known as an ARB) in several dosage combinations. Appropriate monitoring periodically (usually every three to six months) is advised of your electrolytes (sodium, potassium), uric acid, blood glucose, calcium, magnesium, lipid values (cholesteroland triglyceride), CBC, and renal function (BUN, creatinine).

Supplementation is specific for deficiency and is generally not required for controlling blood pressure. Some supplements and over-the-counter medications will interfere with this drug combination's effectiveness.

When on these medications, I generally advise a multivitamin (which includes the B vitamins) and adequate dietary calcium combined with a no-added-salt diet and a green leafy vegetable rich diet to achieve the maximum benefit from the medication.

Control of your other risk factors for cardiovascular disease is very important also i.e., stop smoking, control lipids and blood glucose levels, weight management, and regular aerobic exercise.

Note that calcium supplementation by tablet is not nearly as effective as dietary supplementation.

CoQ10 by itself is probably unnecessary unless on drugs known to consume this such as statin drugs, though there are theoretical benefits from selected dose combinations of alpha lipoic acid, L -carnitine, and CoQ10 as having potential cardioprotective properties that may have promise. Do not randomly supplement these, as you will defeat your purpose and create more harm than good.

I would rather you focus on aerobic activity and diet, rather than over-supplement.