Who should undergo testing for homocysteine blood levels?
Some doctors screen for elevated homocysteine levels in patients with early onset of blood clot formation, heart attacks, strokes, or other symptoms related to atherosclerosis, especially if these patients do not have typical risk factors, such as smoking cigarettes, diabetes, high blood pressure, or high LDL cholesterol levels. Currently, there are no official recommendations as to who should undergo testing for homocysteine blood levels. Before more scientific data become available from the currently ongoing studies, many experts do not recommend a screening test for blood homocysteine levels, even in patients with unexplained blood clot formation. In addition, the consensus recommendation is against treating elevated homocysteine levels with vitamins to prevent heart disease. There is also no consensus as to the optimal dose of folic acid and other B vitamins for the treatment of elevated blood homocysteine levels. (For example, treatment of patients with high homocysteine levels ma
