A form of selenium could reduce cardiac damage by nearly 90 percent and improve heart function if administered during a heart attack, a preliminary study finds.

The mineral is regarded as an essential element for sustaining the health of bodily tissues such as they heart muscle.

Selenium deficiency is associated with heart disease.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., performed an experiment used mice to determine what occurs during a heart attack when selenide, a form of selenium, is administered intravenously.

During a heart attack, the blood supply to the heart is blocked or narrowed, causing ischemia, a condition that causes cardiac tissue to become oxygen-starved. Ischemia can cause irreversible damage to the heart in a little as three or four minutes.

To see the effect of selenide, the researchers induced blood flow blockage in the coronary arteries of mice, but administered selenide just prior to restoring blood flow. They found that the treatment reduced heart damage by 88 percent.

In addition, they found that the mice that received the selenide experienced statistically improved heart function.