Hydrogen Therapy Shows Promise for Heart Disease Prevention and Treatment
- Authors
- Tyler W. LeBaron, Branislav Kura, Barbora Kalocayova, Narcis Tribulova, Jan Slezak
- Journal
- Prime Archives in Molecular Biology
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.37247/PAMB.1.2020.22
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United States
- Health Condition
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Scientists found that a simple gas called molecular hydrogen can help protect and heal hearts by reducing harmful inflammation and stress inside cells, and it can be given to people by breathing it in, drinking special water, or getting injections—with no dangerous side effects reported so far.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen demonstrates anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties that may reduce cellular damage in cardiovascular disease, with no reported clinical toxicity across multiple delivery methods.
Summary
This review examines how molecular hydrogen (H2) might help prevent and treat heart disease by reducing oxidative stress (cellular damage from harmful molecules called free radicals) and inflammation. Researchers found that hydrogen can be delivered through breathing it in, drinking hydrogen-rich water, or injecting hydrogen-rich salt solution, and it appears to work by activating the body's natural antioxidant defenses while suppressing inflammatory signals. No serious side effects have been reported in studies so far.
Practical Takeaway
While this review suggests hydrogen has theoretical promise for heart health based on laboratory and animal studies, it does not present new human clinical trial results. The authors acknowledge that the exact mechanisms remain unclear and call for more clinical studies to determine whether these benefits actually apply to people with heart disease. Anyone considering hydrogen water should consult their doctor, especially if they have existing cardiovascular conditions.
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Redox dysregulation and a dyshomeostasis of inflammation arise from, and result in, cellular aberrations and pathological conditions, which lead to cardiovascular diseases. Despite years of intensive research, there is still no safe and effective method for their prevention and treatment. Recently, molecular hydrogen has been investigated in preclinical and clinical studies on various diseases associated with oxidative and inflammatory stress such as radiation-induced heart disease, ischemia-reperfusion injury, myocardial and brain infarction, storage of the heart, heart transplantation, etc. Hydrogen is primarily administered via inhalation, drinking hydrogen-rich water, or injection of hydrogen-rich saline. It favorably modulates signal transduction and gene expression resulting in suppression of proinflammatory cytokines, excess ROS production, and in the activation of the Nrf2 antioxidant transcription factor. Although H2 appears to be an important biological molecule with anti-oxidant, antiinflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, the exact mechanisms of action remain elusive. There is no reported clinical toxicity; however, some data suggests that H2 has a mild hormetic-like effect, which likely mediate some of its benefits. The mechanistic data, coupled with the pre-clinical and clinical studies, suggest that H2 may be useful for ROS/inflammationinduced cardiotoxicity and other conditions.