CardioExchange Archive

CardioExchange, an NEJM practice community for medical professionals dedicated to improving cardiac patient care, was active from 2009 to 2015. CardioExchange fostered discussion between clinicians from across the globe.

November 5th, 2010

Meta-Analysis Turns Up Mixed Results for Vitamin E on Stroke Subtypes

In a meta-analysis appearing in BMJ, vitamin E supplements had no effect on the overall rate of stroke but were associated with a small reduction in the risk of ischemic stroke and a slightly larger increase in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Markus Schürks and colleagues analyzed data from 9 trials including 118,765 subjects. Although the investigators found no overall effect of vitamin E on the risk for total stroke, the risk of hemorrhagic stroke was raised by 22% while the risk for ischemic stroke was cut by 10%. They cautioned that the absolute effect was small, resulting in 0.8 more hemorrhagic strokes and 2.1 fewer ischemic strokes per 1000 people treated.

Summarizing the clinical implications, they wrote: “Because the consequences of hemorrhagic stroke in terms of morbidity and mortality are generally more severe than those of ischemic stroke and high doses of vitamin E supplements may increase all cause mortality, a widespread and medically uncontrolled use of vitamin E should be cautioned.”

Categories: Prevention
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