Are homocysteine levels as important as cholestrol levels for preventing heart attacks?
Determining whether high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, plays a role in heart attacks is “the next big risk factor that scientists need to sort out,” says Howard N. Hodis, M.D., professor of cardiology and medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and director of the USC Atherosclerosis Research Unit. The American Heart Association, for example, does not yet consider high homocysteine levels a major risk factor for heart disease, but it notes studies have linked higher homocysteine levels to cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries) and possible thrombosis (deep vein clots). Diets rich in protein may raise homocysteine levels, but levels can be reduced with folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. “So much is still unclear about homocysteine and heart disease that it is premature for patients to be tested for it or to take supplements in the hopes of reducing it,” Hodis says. In the future homocysteine, cholestrol, C-reactive protein and “as m
