Homocysteine, a marker of vascular risk. Literature Review
Abstract
Introduction: several studies have demonstrated the relationship of several well-known risk factors with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases; however, in some patients with incipient cardiovascular diseases, it is not possible to find such a relationship, so it is necessary to identify new predictive factors, such as elevated plasma homocysteine level.
Objective: to describe homocysteine as a marker of vascular risk.
Method: the national and international bibliography on hematology, corresponding to the last five years, available in the Virtual Health Library of Cuba, in Spanish and English was revised; for the search were used terms such as "homocysteine and atherosclerosis", "homocysteine and diagnostic use", "methionine and diagnostic use". From the selected articles a structured review on the subject was elaborated.
Development: plasma homocysteine levels should be measured in all patients with a history of coronary artery disease, pulmonary thromboembolism, venous thrombosis, unexplained atherosclerosis (with no risk factors or identifiable causes for increased levels of homocysteine), and chronic renal insufficiency or renal transplantation.
Conclusions: the role of homocysteine as an independent factor in atherogenic risk has been confirmed by studies and epidemiological data showing that elevated circulating total homocysteine is a potent prognostic marker of cardiovascular disease and mortality in patients with preexisting risk factors; however, homocysteine is a modifiable risk factor since the administration of vitamins to patients, at appropriate levels, decreases their plasma levels.Downloads
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