High Homocysteine a Risk Factor for Congestive Heart Failure

               
 
In adults without prior MI, an elevated plasma Homocysteine concentration is independently and significantly associated with the subsequent development of congestive heart failure (CHF). That's according to study results reported in the March 12th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

High plasma homocysteine levels are known to increase the risk of vascular disease, but whether they are a risk factor for CHF has been unclear, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study and colleagues note in the paper.

Click here to read entire article by Megan Rauscher, Reuters Health

Taking a daily multivitamin or eating a bowl of fortified cereal each day may be the most cost-effective way to ward off deadly heart trouble, says a new study. It may not be the best way, but it could save lives, the study says. That's because vitamins and fortified breakfast cereals have folic acid, which cuts blood levels of an enzyme called homocysteine, says the researchers.

                        

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Amino Acid Homocysteine Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

Heard of Homocysteine?
If not, you will soon, health experts say. New research is finding homocysteine
(ho-mo-SIS-teen), an amino acid, may play a role in the onset of dementia.

The good news is that vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid may reduce the levels of homocysteine in the blood, says Dr. James Toole, a professor of neurology and public health science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

He believes people will soon have their homocysteine levels checked as routinely as cholesterol. "Researchers have found high homocysteine levels are associated with Alzheimer's disease and brain atrophy," Toole says. "This is big time news."

Click here to read the entire article by Jennifer Thomas, HealthScout News                     

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