Inside This Issue When Minutes Count Heart Attack Survivors: Know Your Ejection Fraction Aspirin--A Bedtime Story Angioplasty Breakthrough Lower Homocysteine for Heart Health Nitroglycerine: Solving a Century-Old Puzzle Vitamin C May Reduce Stroke Risk More on New Pacemakers The Promise of 'Piggyback' Hearts
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High homocysteine levels, already linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, may also increase the odds that heart arteries will renarrow after angioplasty. In a study at University Hospital in Bern, Switzerland, researchers studied a group of 205 patients who underwent angioplasty to open blocked arteries. Six months after undergoing the procedure, patients who experienced renarrowing, or restenosis, of the arteries were found to have significantly higher homocysteine levels than patients whose arteries remained open after the procedure. The Swiss team also reported that patients with higher homocysteine levels were more likely to die or to experience cardiovascular complications such as heart attack during the six months after angioplasty.

Because diet has a major effect on homocysteine levels, the authors suggested that folic acid and vitamins B12 and B6 to lower homocysteine levels "could be an inexpensive treatment with almost no side effects and at a large saving potential for healthcare costs."

Good dietary sources of B vitamins include dark-green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits and juices, dried beans, nuts, oatmeal, wheat germ, and brewer's yeast. Inexpensive supplements are widely available.