High Levels of Blood Protein Tied to Heart Failure

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High Levels of Blood Protein Tied to Heart Failure By Jacqueline Stenson NEW

YORK (Reuters Health) - High blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine may

raise an older person's risk of developing heart failure, new study findings

suggest.

 

Previous research has linked homocysteine with heart attacks and strokes,

but the new report is the first to find that elevated levels may contribute

to heart failure.

 

The study, published in the March 12th issue of the Journal of the American

Medical Association (news - web sites), involved almost 2,500 men and women

with an average age of 72 who were participating in the ongoing Framingham

Heart Study.

 

At the time their blood levels of homocysteine were measured, none of the

participants had heart failure or had previously sustained a heart attack.

They were then followed for eight years, during which time 156 developed

heart failure.

 

Results showed that high homocysteine levels were associated with a risk of

heart failure in both men and women.

 

" Individuals who had (blood) homocysteine levels in the top half had about a

doubling in risk of heart failure in the eight-year follow-up period than

people in the lower half, " said study author Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, an

associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine in

Massachusetts.

 

The association between homocysteine and heart failure appeared to be more

consistent in women than men, Vasan and colleagues report.

 

Nearly 5 million Americans have congestive heart failure, according to the

American Heart Association

(news - web sites) (AHA). It is a chronic condition in which the heart

becomes enlarged and loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. Patients

become fatigued and retain fluid, often leading to swelling of the legs and

congestion in the lungs that causes shortness of breath.

 

It's not clear precisely how homocysteine might contribute to heart failure,

Vasan said, and there may be several mechanisms. " Heart cells are especially

susceptible to homocysteine injury, " he told Reuters Health.

 

The AHA does not recommend routine testing of the general population for

homocysteine levels, stating that a causal link to cardiovascular problems

has not been firmly established.

 

And while there is not strong evidence to suggest that lowering homocysteine

levels is beneficial, the group says that people at high risk should be sure

to get enough folic acid, from foods such as leafy greens and fortified

breakfast cereals, as well as two other B vitamins--6 and 12.

 

These vitamins are known to aid the breakdown of homocysteine in the body.

 

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:1251-1257.