Fact Check: Can a concoction of juices unclog heart’s veins naturally? No

A viral Facebook post suggests that drinking a spoonful mixture of apple vinegar and the juices of lemon, ginger and garlic before breakfast every day ‘naturally’ opens ‘the veins of the heart’ slowly.Hyderabad: A viral Facebook post suggests that drinking a spoonful mixture of apple vinegar and the juices of lemon, ginger and garlic before breakfast every day ‘naturally’ opens ‘the veins of the heart’ slowly. It also claims that after drinking this magic portion, there will be no need for angioplasty or bypass surgery as the concoction is potentially better than any medical treatment available.

Let’s discuss angioplasty and bypass surgery briefly.

Angioplasty is a procedure used to widen blocked or narrowed coronary arteries and a bypass surgery redirects blood around a section of a blocked or partially blocked artery in the heart. Any blockage in coronary arteries may lead to a heart attack if ignored.

Fact Check

NewsMeter performed a keyword search to find whether there is any method to open artery blockages naturally.

According to Healthline, “You may have read articles or heard reports promoting natural ways to unclog your arteries. For now, research doesn’t support the use of specific foods to unclog arteries, though minor studies in animals show promise for the future.”

The article also suggested ways to prevent the deposit of plaque in the arteries such as losing weight, exercising, and minimizing eating food high in saturated fat.

“These are all steps you can take to reduce plaques, but these steps won’t remove existing plaques,” they added. Healthy habits will help prevent additional plaque from forming.

NewsMeter contacted our expert Dr Manoj K Agarwala, MD DM, Director at Cath lab at Apollo Hospitals, who said that the claim is not true. There are no medications or diets which can open existing blocks. Medicines and lifestyle will prevent further progression of blockage. Severe blockage in important arteries will require bypass or stent, he said.