High homocysteine causes heart problems

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 17

A high level of homocysteine in body can lead to heart diseases. It is associated with low-level of vitamins B6, B12 and folate, as well as renal disease.

The increase in the level of this amino acid or hyperhomocysteinemia leads to damage of the vascular inner-lining and reduction in flexibility of arteries. This phenomenon is more common among men.

SRL Diagnostics has released a three-year (2013-15) data mining survey done on Homocysteine, a naturally occurring amino acid. According to the report, approximately 50,000 samples were tested for blood homocysteine which revealed that more men had higher than normal homocysteine levels. This is considered to be a major factor involved in cardiovascular diseases.

While mapping the four zones, it was found that the west zone showed maximum cases of abnormal levels of homocysteine in both males and females. On the other hand, the least cases for abnormal levels of homocysteine in both males and females were found in North India. Given the increase in abnormal level, awareness about homocysteine is important.

While analysing the data, higher level of homocysteine was seen in men in the age group of 31-45. In women, high homocysteine level was common in persons of 46 years of age and above.

Dr Leena Chatterjee, director of SRL Diagnostics labs and strategic initiatives, said, “There is a significant need for reaching out to the masses and making people aware of how important it is to test for homocysteine as well if there is a deficiency of folate, Vitamins B6 and B12. Hyperhomocysteinemia accentuates the adverse affect of risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, lipid disorders and also promotes development of inflammation.”

She said, “Abnormal level of homocysteine has also been linked to other problems, including osteoporosis, birth defects, macular degeneration and certain types of cancer. The good news is that elevated homocysteine levels can be decreased by consuming adequate amounts of folate, vitamins B12 and B6.”

In women, the problem of hyperhomocysteinemia was relatively less common.