For years, heart attacks have struck fear into the eyes of Americans. All cardiovascular diseases together are the widest cause of death in the country, with heart attacks alone accounting for about twenty-three percent of all fatalities (Staff, 1997). Doctors have tried to reduce this risk over time by advising patients about lowering cholesterol levels, for high cholesterol has long been thought a major contributor to heart-related deaths. Although controversy surrounds recent discoveries in biology and health, new studies have lead scientists to believe that heart disease is not necessarily cholesterol related, but connected to levels of homocysteine in the blood.
Even though many physicians attribute heart related diseases to cholesterol, studies have shown that there may not be a direct correlation between these levels and heart diseases(McCully, 1997). Other risk factors of heart disease include obesity, high blood pressure and smoking. Contrary to past knowledge, most heart attack victims actually have levels of cholesterol that would be considered normal, and as many as one fourth of heart attacks occur in people with no known risk factors at all (Cowley, 1997).
The hypothesis that high levels of cholesterol cause heart attacks may be attributed to this: LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, induces cells to produce proteins in the arterial walls of the heart and the veins leading to the heart. Macrophages eat the fatty substances in the heart and then die, causing a build up in the veins. Conventionally speaking, the blockage of LDL would be the onset of a very fatty diet. However, it has never been proved that the cholesterol is the cause of the injury to the arterial wall. Dr. Kilmer McCully has his own theory: high homocysteine levels are what make the veins and heart vulnerable to the harmful effects of cholesterol. Homocysteine corrodes the arterial walls and makes them susceptible to the effects of cholesterol (Clarke, 1997).
Homocysteine is an amino acid that is used to build and nurture proteins. This amino acid is nonessential to sustain life, and it accumulates in the body when folate levels are exceptionally low (Kasabien, 1997). It also plays a vital role in the metabolizing of some vitamins, however it is a toxin to cells that line blood vessels, and causes the blood to easily clot (Tisman, 1997). When levels of homocysteine in the blood get too high, then a problem occurs. Homocysteine corrodes the arterial walls and makes them susceptible to the effects of cholesterol (Kasabien, 1997).
A Harvard study done on fifteen thousand doctors revealed that the group in the top five percent of the highest homocysteine levels were 3.4 times as likely to be at risk of a heart attack (Graham, 1997). According to McCully’s theory, other risk factors are amplified by the presence of homocysteine. For instance, smoking and lack of exercise tend to raise levels of homocysteine in the blood. Similarly, the fact that age and gender produce tendencies to heart diseases can also be explained by way of McCully’s homocysteine-induced theory. Levels of the amino acid are twenty percent lower in women of reproductive age than in men of the same age. After menopause, the risk level soars back up to the level of men. As they get older, both genders have an increase in levels of homocysteine (Cowley, 1997).
Although supported by many scientists and studies, McCully’s theory faces a bit of opposition. A study called the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial found that levels of homocysteine might be more indicative of inflammation or the chances of atherosclerosis, another cardiovascular ailment, rather than the susceptibility to strokes and heart attacks. Researchers in this uncontroled experiment found no correlation in the levels of homocysteine and heart disease in their subjects. (Evans, Shatter, Hempel, Dutler, & Huller, 1997).
Even though the facts about homocysteine are somewhat in question, there are still precautions that can be taken to insure people from achieving too high a level of the amino acid. First of all, it is important to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. This is prevalent because vitamin B is crucial to undermining dangerously high homocysteine levels (The Homocysteine Saga, 1994. Starting this year, this vitamin will also be found in breads and cereals due to the government’s order to fortify grain products. Studies have also shown that vitamins E and C also may help lower the risk. In a Nurses’ Health Study, a thirty-five to forty percent reduction in harmful heart-related incidences was reported in people with a high vitamin E intake.
Physicians agree that it is best for everyone to get 100-250 IU of vitamin E supplements if they do not get a substantial amount in their normal diet. In another study it was shown that people who took at least fifty milligrams of vitamin C were also less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases. Folic acid is also linked to homocysteine levels. In many patients, low levels of folate means high levels of homocysteine (Kasabien, 1997). Folate breaks down homocysteine molecules, allowing it to be cleared from the blood stream and preventing clogging of the veins (Homocysteine and Folate, 1997). Another good preventative method is to have a diet with substantial amounts of fish (Clarke, 1997). Simply by eating the right foods, people can lower their risk of falling victim to cardiovascular diseases.
Through medical advances, it has been noted that levels of the amino acid, homocysteine, are possibly linked to an increase in heart attacks and other cardiovascular troubles. Although the possibility of homocysteine effecting the body negatively is still being researched, it is still an important topic to investigate. One and a half million Americans will have a heart attack this year, and many more will develop cardiovascular diseases. Any prospective solution to this wave of deaths is welcome and worth investigating.
