Grant: Foundation Grant

High blood pressure (hypertension) is an important silent killer that can cause heart attacks and stroke. Not only is hypertension a deadly disease, it also cost $76 B last year in the US alone. Current drugs used to control hypertension are costly, can induce unwanted side-effects and they are not always effective in controlling blood pressure (BP) in all hypertensive patients. Having a food that will control BP represents a less expensive intervention than drugs. We have recently completed a major tightly controlled trial in which patients with peripheral arterial disease were supplemented daily for one year with flaxseed in their diet. Patients who entered the trial with high BP were the most affected by dietary flaxseed and systolic BP decreased by 15 mm Hg, an effect comparable to most hypertensive drugs available today. This decline in BP would lower the incidence of heart attacks and strokes by more than 50%. In the Foundation grant, we will continue our research with an on-going CIHR clinical trial to determine if flaxseed will lower BP in patients with high BP but without secondary disease. We will also study if flaxseed can delay or reduce the need for anti-hypertensive drugs. In a separate line of study in animal models, we will also examine the potential for dietary flaxseed to reduce damage to the heart after a heart attack has occurred. The mechanisms responsible for the anti-hypertensive action of flaxseed as well as its effects on heart protection from heart attacks will be studied. Providing low cost alternatives to drug therapy that can be used alone or in conjunction with medication has enormous appeal for the Canadian health care system. Even more importantly, this low cost alternative to expensive medication for high BP represents an appealing choice for third world countries and poor communities everywhere that cannot afford the drugs they need to lower BP and protect themselves from heart attacks and strokes.