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Vitamin supplements may not reduce risk of heart attack

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals who have experienced a heart attack and have since been taking vitamin B12 to decrease their chances of another cardiovascular event may want to consider seeking blood pressure and cholesterol testing to determine their heart health. A new study has found that vitamin supplementation may do little to reduce the risk of a second heart attack.

Previous research has found that vitamin B 12 may lower blood homocysteine levels, which has been associated with decreased risk of heart attack. However, the new study explains that this association may not be causal, and that the vitamin may do little to ward off heart disease.

"There was no evidence of any benefit beginning to emerge with more prolonged treatment and follow-up," wrote Jane Armitage in her study, which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"These results highlight the importance of focusing on drug treatments and lifestyle changes that are of proven benefit, rather than lowering homocysteine with vitamin supplements."

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among all groups in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health.