Use of Niacin to Lower Blood Pressure

Niacin, also commonly known as Vitamin B3, is one of the eight water-soluble B vitamins. Niacin helps the body convert carbohydrates into sugar for fuel. Niacin is commonly used to lower LDL cholesterol , the bad cholesterol, while raising the good HDL-cholesterol, according to blood-pressure-updates.com. Niacin also is proven to help with dyslipidemia, which is the disruption of lipids in the bloodstream. Dyslipidemia is an important cardiovascular disease risk factor. Its benefits have been questioned, however, on what the vitamin does for blood pressure.

No Clear Proof

• Niacin has been shown in clinical trials to significantly lower blood pressure in people with hypertension, but not necessarily in people with normal blood pressure, according to pubmedcentral.com, a medical research website in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  These findings have complicated the verdict on the vitamin's ability to lower blood pressure because it cannot be determined why the treatment sometimes works and sometimes does not. Larger, randomized studies by the Coronary Drug Project revealed either no clear significant effects of niacin or niacin-containing regimens on blood pressure, or slightly lower average blood pressure than placebo studies.

Need For Specific Studies

• Although niacin has been used to treat high cholesterol for decades, it somehow has not had significant amounts of clinic testing specifically to determine its effectiveness on hypertension. According to the NIH, it is believed that further analysis of ongoing studies of niacin on blood pressure and future clinical trials designed specifically to learn more about its affect on blood pressure will give researchers a better understanding of what, if any, benefits can be expected.

Precautions

• Niacin, when taken with alpha-blocking hypertension medications increases the possibility of side effects commonly associated with the vitamin, according to blood-pressure-updates.com. People taking niacin often experience nausea, indigestion, gas, vomiting, diarrhea and the activation of ulcers. When planning to use niacin for lowering cholesterol, consult a physician to ensure you are getting the proper treatment for your condition.