Drugs and Alcohol

Vitamins B and Heart Attack

One study suggests that taking vitamins B did not prevent heart attack and stroke (CVA) in people with heart disease or risk factors.

The results, according to eight clinical trials on more than 24,000 people, support the recommendations against the use of vitamins B to prevent heart disease.

The idea that the B vitamins, like folic acid, B-6 and B-12, help prevent cardiac complications from the fact that lower blood levels of an amino acid called homocysteine.

Homocysteine levels increase in people with atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque in the arteries that cause heart attacks and strokes.

But researchers do not know whether high homocysteine levels promote the progression of atherosclerosis or are only an indicator of cardiac risk. No clinical trial showed that vitamin B supplements prevent heart attack and stroke.

To strengthen the evidence, the new review collected data from eight clinical trials on the effects of folic acid, vitamins B-6 and B-12 or combinations thereof.

The trials included 24,210 people with established cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis or previous stroke or other cardiac complications) or their risk factors, such as diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol.

The authors found that adding supplements to conventional medical therapy did not lower the risk of heart attack, stroke or death of participants in the seven years of monitoring.

The results appear in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, which is an international organization that evaluates medical research.

The review provides “solid evidence” that these B vitamins do not prevent heart problems and stroke, told Reuters Health Dr. Arthur J. Marti-Carvajal, Iberoamerican Cochrane Network, in Valencia, Venezuela.

The recommendation for people who want to take care of your heart health is to drop the B vitamins and either: not smoking, exercising, controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar regularly and eat a balanced diet and a rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fast food and other unhealthy products.

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