Homocysteine: A Risk Factor in Patietns with Cardiovascular Disorders in Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is thought to play a vital role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease in the general population. Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-essential, non-protein sulfur containing amino acid that constitutes an additional risk factor for CHD. In Pakistan rates of CAD are higher and have become a major health problem of the country. This study is an attempt to assess the risk factors, including tHcy levels in various conditions associated with CVD and its comparison with the normal population. Methods: 800 cases with CVD problems were enrolled for the estimation of tHCY. For comparison, 200normal subjects were included. tHcy was estimated by IMMULITE 1000 systems. Analysis of variance and descriptive statistics were worked out. Results & Conclusion: A significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in plasma tHcy level in patients with angina, angina with co-existent DM and hypertension, whereas, a non-significant difference was observed in plasma tHcy level in patients with MI or the control group. It was concluded that Elevated tHcy levels have been associated with gender (higher levels in males), post menopausal women and advancing age. Significantly higher tHcy levels were observed in patients with angina in both genders, and in CVD patients with diabetes and in hypertensive and MI patients respectively. It can be inferred that homocysteine was significantly higher (P<0.05) in all categories of CVD, when compared with the control. Homocysteine can be used as the indicator for predicting the future possibility of the onset of cardiovascular disorders and may be averted by adopting appropriate nutritional intervention. Keywords: Angina, CVD, homocysteine, hypertension, myocardial infarction, Pakistan.