Lead author Dr. Rosa Maria Bruno from the University of Pisa treated 12 patients with high doses of vitamin C given intravenously. None of the patients had received any kind of prior treatment for their condition. Over a five-minute period, all the patients were intravenously administered three grams of vitamin C.
On average, after about 20 minutes, most of the patients saw their blood pressure plunge at least seven percent. There was a specific drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number on a reading) of 9 percent. However, no significant drop in systolic blood pressure was observed, the study found.
The authors believe that the vitamin works by calming an overactive central nervous system. However, they also warned that more study is needed to confirm the results.
The Italian team was expected to report its findings Friday in Atlanta at the American Heart Association's Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research. The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
