Patient Information
Homocysteine & Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Elevated homocysteine is an independent risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
Homocysteine may increase overall cardiovascular risk by interacting with traditional risk factors such as:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
Homocysteine & Diabetes Complications
Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Over 18 million people in the United States have diabetes and approximately 95% of those have Type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States and accounts for over $90 billion in medical treatment.
World-wide, it is projected that 125 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes and that number is expected to rise to over 220 million by the year 2010.
Homocysteine is associated with the major diabetes complications.
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Hypertension
- Nephropathy
- Stroke
- Retinopathy
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Neuropathy
How Does Homocysteine Affect The Body?
A short movie on the effects of homocysteine on the human body. Requires the Adobe Flash plug-in to view