Hydrogen Gas Reduces Heart Damage from High Blood Pressure in Rats
- Authors
- Hiroki Matsuoka, Seiko Miyata, Nozomi Okumura, Takuya Watanabe, Katsunori Hashimoto, Miki Nagahara, Kazuko Kato, Sayaka Sobue, Kozue Takeda, Masatoshi Ichihara, Takashi Iwamoto, Akiko Noda
- Journal
- Clinical and Experimental Hypertension
- Year
- 2018
- DOI
- 10.1080/10641963.2018.1481419
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Salt-Sensitive Hypertension
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas may help prevent heart muscle thickening in rats with high blood pressure.
Key Finding
Chronic hydrogen gas inhalation reduced left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of the heart muscle) in salt-sensitive hypertensive rats, even without lowering blood pressure.
Summary
Researchers studied whether hydrogen gas could help prevent heart damage in rats bred to develop high blood pressure from a high-salt diet. Rats exposed to hydrogen gas inhalation showed less thickening of the heart muscle (a condition called left ventricular hypertrophy) compared to rats that didn't receive hydrogen, even though their blood pressure didn't decrease. This suggests hydrogen gas may protect the heart through a mechanism separate from lowering blood pressure.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study provides early evidence that hydrogen gas may have cardioprotective effects independent of blood pressure reduction. However, this is animal research only, and it remains unclear whether these findings would apply to humans or whether hydrogen water (which delivers much less hydrogen than gas inhalation) would produce similar effects. More research in humans is needed before drawing conclusions about hydrogen's usefulness for heart health.
Abstract (excerpt)
Purpose: Hypertension is an important risk factor for death resulting from stroke, myocardial infarction, and end-stage renal failure. Hydrogen (H2) gas protects against many diseases, including ischemia-reperfusion injury and stroke. The effects of H2 on hypertension and its related left…