No extra Bs for stents.High daily doses of three B-vitamins (folate folate /fo·late/ (fo´lat) 1. the anionic form of folic acid. 2. more generally, any of a group of substances containing a form of pteroic acid conjugated with l-glutamic acid and having a variety of substitutions. , B-6, and B-12) increased the risk that coronary arteries Coronary arteries The two main arteries that provide blood to the heart. The coronary arteries surround the heart like a crown, coming out of the aorta, arching down over the top of the heart, and dividing into two branches. would close again (restenosis) after they were propped open with a wire mesh wire mesh, wire netting n → tela metálica tube (stent) ... at least in men. Earlier studies had suggested that the vitamins would prevent restenosis. Researchers gave 636 stent patients either a placebo or a single intravenous dose of the vitamins followed by daily doses of 1,200 mcg of folic acid folic acid: see coenzyme; vitamin. folic acid or folate Organic compound essential to animal growth and health and needed by bacteria as a growth factor. , 48 mg of vitamin B-6, and 60 mcg of B-12. After six months, arteries had closed again in 35 percent of the vitamin group but in only 27 percent of the placebo group. (Luckily, the vitamin takers were no more likely to have a heart attack or die during the study.) However, the vitamins didn't raise--and may have lowered--the risk of restenosis in women and in patients who had diabetes or high homocysteine Homocysteine Definition Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in blood plasma. High levels of homocysteine in the blood are believed to increase the chance of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and osteoporosis. levels. (There were too few people in those groups to tell for sure, though.) What to do: To play it safe, don't take high doses of B-vitamins after getting a stent. (The amounts in nonhigh-potency multivitamins are okay.) Restenosis occurs less often with the newer generation of stents, which release drugs to keep them open. |
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