Homocysteine and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke
This meta analysis finds an 11% increase in ischemic heart disease and 19% increase in stroke. While the authors were not jumping up and down about these results, I strongly disagree. First, one single solitary factor raised risk more than 10%. A single, solitary, VERY modifiable risk factor. (As far as cost, my office offers a 2,000 mcg B12 and 800 mg folic acid for about $8/month…that would equal to about $3,840 for forty years’ worth…hardly the cost of diagnosing CVD). Remember, Western medicine rarely gets beyond the idea of “one cause, one cure.” Natural approaches to CVD would attack multiple angles, with efficacy rising with a more broad scope approach.
Lastly, this review accepts what is currently accepted as “normal” for homocysteine levels. It is highly possible (and we see it in many other lab values) that “normal” values are actually too broad. That would result in patients with “high normal” homocysteine that contributes to their CVD but would actually have counted against association.