Abstract

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) leading to coronary heart disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Nutrition is one of the key factors in the etiology of atherosclerosis. Micronutrient supplements are widely used to prevent many chronic diseases including atherosclerosis. However, scientific evidence regarding this issue is still insufficient and current data on the association of dietary micronutrients and CVD risk is contradictory. Most of the randomized studies have failed to demonstrate beneficial effects of micronutrient supplementation on markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. In this review, role of each micronutrient on subclinical atherosclerosis will be evaluated thoroughly.

Keywords: Subclinical atherosclerosis, flow-mediated dilatation, carotid intima-media thickness, coronary artery calcium score, pulse wave velocity, vitamins, minerals, micronutrients.