Frequently Asked Questions

You can. Cardiamin^® was carefully designed for patients who are nutritionally deficient. So, if you find you are not getting appropriate nutrition due to, for example, not eating enough fish, Cardiamin^® may be appropriate for you. Other heart health vitamins contain as much as 600 mg of omega-3 fatty acid. Krill oil supplements often contain as little as 90 mg of omega-3 fatty acid. Cardiamin^® contains approximately 1000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids (or approximately 2000 mg of fish oil) which is recommended by leading national guidelines including the American Heart Association. Omega-3 fatty acids are also used in hyperlipidemia treatment and in cholesterol supplements that lower cholesterol (LDL, the “bad” cholesterol). Additionally, it contains a daily amount of Vitamin D at doses recommended by the Institutes of Medicine and the Endocrine Society as well as other vitamins and minerals in doses that are not in excessive amounts.

No. Cardiamin^® was conceived as a patient benefit to provide the best supplements for heart health to patients, at a reasonable price. Therefore, you will find Cardiamin^® is very competitively priced.

Cardiamin^® is made of natural components and is manufactured in a pharma-grade facility in the United States. Additionally, it is gluten-free and does not contain any added preservatives or food coloring.

Yes. Cardiamin^® is designed to be a complete multivitamin for people with heart disease. Current evidence does not support calcium supplementation for most people. In fact, numerous recent studies have concluded that daily calcium supplementation may increase the risk for kidney stones and heart disease. Thus, calcium has been omitted from Cardiamin^® heart health vitamins. Therefore, Cardiamin^® multivitamins can take the place of ALL these supplements except calcium. Please always discuss your supplement choices with your physician.

The ingredients in Cardiamin^® are unlikely to cause any significant interaction with prescription medications. However, Cardiamin^® may allow you to reduce the number of pills you are taking because it combines a complete mulit-vitamin, extra Vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acid supplement all in 2 small soft gels. Before making any changes to your supplements please speak with your healthcare provider.

Pregnant or nursing mothers should ask their OB/GYN for the appropriate supplementation recommendations.

You should take 2 softgels daily with food to achieve the recommended dose of Cardiamin^®. To create a similar combination of multivitamins, heart health vitamins and fish oil, patients typically have to take five or more pills daily versus the TWO Cardiamin^® softgels to support heart health.

No. Cardiamin^® not vegetarian as it contains fish oil and the soft gel is derived from halal certified bovine sources.

Vitamin D has been linked to heart disease and poor heart health. Vitamin D deficiency is very common in people with all types of cardiovascular disease, including heart failure. A number of leading experts agree that the Daily Recommended Intake of vitamin D (400 IU) is likely too low. Many studies, as well as statements from the Institute of Medicine and the Endocrine Society, have shown that doses of 800-1000 IU can have positive health benefits, such as reducing the risk of fractures and falls. Cardiamin^® contains 1000 IU to help support your health.

Many leading multivitamins contain ingredients such as Vitamin K, potassium, or high doses of vitamin E that can be harmful or counteract medications often used by people with cardiovascular disease. In addition, typical over-the-counter heart health vitamins and do not provide sufficient vitamin D or fish oil to support a healthy heart and lifestyle. Some vitamin supplements include ‘proprietary blends’ which have substances that are not well studied or have uncertain benefits for people with heart disease. Cardiamin^® was formulated using the best available scientific evidence to support heart health.

People with heart disease and heart failure have unique nutritional needs that may not be met with a typical diet. For example, people with cardiovascular disease are often deficient in Vitamin D, and many people find it difficult to obtain enough omega-3 fatty acids from food alone. In addition, certain medications commonly used in coronary heart disease treatment or in treating heart failure are associated with deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals.
Cardiamin^® was designed to help meet these critical nutritional needs and support heart health through a carefully blended formula of vitamins, minerals and fish oil at the doses suggested by organizations including the American Heart Association’s fish oil recommendations and the Endocrine Society’s vitamin D recommendations.

Over the last several years, a number of landmark clinical trials have shown that treatment with high doses of folic acid to reduce homocysteine, a substance that can cause ischemia, does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease or complications.

For many years, vitamin E was thought to be useful for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease treament and cancer prevention. However, a number of studies involving thousands of people have shown no benefit to the use of vitamin E. In fact, long-term use of pharmacologic doses of vitamin E (400 IU) has been associated with increased risk of congestive heart failure and death. For this reason, Cardiamin^® has minimized the amount of vitamin E (a daily dose of 10 IU combined in two softgels). The small amount of vitamin E present in Cardiamin^® is included to preserve and stabilize the fish oil.

Many people with cardiovascular disease are prescribed blood thinners like warfarin (Coumadin^®). Vitamin K counteracts warfarin, potentially reversing the blood-thinning effects of this vital medication. Typical vitamins for the heart often contain vitamin K, which could be harmful to people on warfarin. For this reason, Cardiamin^® was specifically designed to exclude vitamin K.

Cardiamin^® was designed by some of the leading experts in coronary heart disease treatment in order to support heart health. CoQ10 has been shown in some studies to have a positive effect, but other studies do not support a beneficial role. Because CoQ10 is not considered an “essential” vitamin or mineral, it was excluded. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have further questions.

The most recent studies and data suggest daily calcium supplementation is not necessary for most people, which is why we excluded it from our supplements for heart health. If one requires supplemental calcium this can be done at their clinician’s direction.

Vitamin C is a classic example of the ‘Goldilocks’ phenomenon in vitamins, where it is essential to take just the right amount for your needs. Too little vitamin C results in a disease called scurvy, but too much vitamin C can increase your risk for kidney stones. Cardiamin^® heart health vitamins have the recommended daily dose of vitamin C per the United States recommended daily allowance.

Cardiamin^® does not typically have an interaction with other medications. In fact, our heart healthy supplements are better for those who are taking blood thinners such as Coumadin because of the absence of vitamin K. However, please discuss any changes to your supplement regime with your healthcare provider.

Numerous studies over the last few decades have shown that fish oil (specifically omega-3 fatty acids) may be one of the best supplements for heart health. Specifically, large clinical trials have shown that intakes of omega-3 fatty acids of 800-1000mg/day have reduced the risk of death for people with cardiovascular disease and heart failure. This has led the American Heart Association to recommend 1000mg/day of omega-3 fatty acids as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Cardiamin^® is unique in that it contains a complete multivitamin as well as 1000mg of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA+DHA) – all in one product.

No. The source of fish oil is very important. Specifically, the best fish oil comes from wild, cold-water fish that are low on the food chain. You want to avoid fish oil from bottom feeders, scavengers, predatory fish or farm raised fish, as these all increase the risk of contaminants, including dioxins, PCBs and mercury. Cardiamin^® heart health vitamins only use fish oil from wild sardines and anchovies from the cold waters off Chile. We also test every batch for purity to assure there are no contaminants in our fish oil.

Every batch of Cardiamin^® is tested for mercury, PCBs, toxins, pesticides and other microbial contaminants to assure purity. The certificate of analysis for the fish oil shows that it has negligible amounts of mercury.