
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 25, 1995                   TAG: 9507250089
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BAR HARBOR, MAINE                                LENGTH: Medium

VITAMIN LINKED TO HEART HEALTH

A simple vitamin deficiency could trigger 30 percent to 40 percent of the heart attacks and strokes suffered by American men each year, a researcher reported Monday.

This startling revelation, emerging from a few dozen new studies, means that vitamin supplements might prevent many of those heart attacks, saving the country untold suffering and billions of dollars in medical costs.

The vitamin is folic acid, heralded in recent years for its critical role in preventing birth defects.

Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables such as brussels sprouts, spinach and lettuce, and in many fruits, including apples and oranges. It is also available in common multiple vitamin supplements.

``This is so new there aren't recommendations,'' said Dr. Judith Hall, a geneticist at the University of British Columbia. She described the new findings at a genetics meeting at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.

The importance of folic acid is now growing even more as studies begin to suggest that folic acid might likewise produce reductions of up to 40 percent in heart attacks and strokes. So far, the studies on folic acid and heart disease have been done just on men.

While the link to heart disease isn't proven, Hall and others are suggesting that boosting folic acid intake should be done now, even before more conclusive studies are done.

Dr. Jacob Selhub, the author of a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February that linked folic acid deficiencies to increased risk of strokes, was more conservative than Hall, estimating that folic acid deficiencies might be responsible for 15 percent to 20 percent of heart attacks and strokes.

But both agreed that the link between folic acid and heart disease was strong.

The researchers noted, however, that it is still important to control fat and cholesterol in the diet, because they are separate risks for heart disease. Ensuring adequate folic acid levels will not protect against the evils of an unhealthy diet.

by CNB