Many doctors prescribe calcium channel blocker drugs to treat high blood pressure and various types of heart disease—but research has shown that this medication is linked with an increased risk of elevated homocysteine and a higher risk of premature mortality. Homocysteine is an amino acid made in the body that, when elevated, has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and certain B vitamins lower homocysteine levels.

A recent study, published in the July 2023 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that patients with suspected stable angina pectoris (cardiac chest pain) who used B vitamins along with calcium channel blockers experienced no increased risk of premature death.¹

In this study population, calcium channel blocker users who did not complement drug treatment with B vitamins had an adjusted 69% greater risk of cardiovascular death, a 41% higher risk of noncardiovascular death and a 54% higher risk of total mortality during a median 10.3-year follow-up compared to individuals whose cardiac chest pain was not treated with calcium channel blockers. Among those who did take B vitamins along with calcium channel blocker medications, there was no significant association of calcium channel blockers with cardiovascular, noncardiovascular or total deaths.

“The B-vitamins folic acid, vitamin B12 and B6 are water-soluble nutrients essential for diverse physiological processes, including homocysteine metabolism,” Indu Dhar and colleagues explained. “Notably, calcium channel blocker treatment has been associated with increased systemic homocysteine levels.”

The study included 3,991 individuals who underwent coronary angiography during 2000 to 2004 for suspected stable angina pectoris, which is chest pain that occurs during exertion that can be a symptom of cardiovascular disease. Among this group, 2,573 were enrolled in a trial in which they were receiving one of the following until the end of 2006: a placebo; folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6; folic acid plus vitamin B12; or vitamin B6. During a median 10.3 years of follow-up, 356 of the people in the current study died from cardiovascular causes and 466 died from non-cardiovascular causes.