Folic Acid May Reduce Stroke Risk in Blood Pressure Patients
Folic Acid May Reduce Stroke Risk in Blood Pressure Patients – According to a new study, patients who were on hypertension medication and also had low folate levels, reduced their risk for stroke when they took folic acid supplements.
The study, known as the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial (CSPPT), involved 20,000 high blood pressure patients. The patients had no history of stroke or heart attack. Participants were divided into two groups. One group was asked to take a folic acid supplement along with a high blood pressure medication, enalapril (brand name Vasotec) and the other group was asked to take only enalapril.
After 4.5 years, researchers found that in the group that was taking both folic acid and enalapril, only 2.7% had a stroke, when compared to 3.4% in the other group. They also had a lower risk of ischemic stroke (caused by blockage in an artery supplying blood to the brain). Adding folic acid also reduced risk of heart-related death and heart attack (3.1% versus 3.9 percent%).
There were no major differences in the groups in the risk of bleeding stroke or death from any other cause.
The new study was led by Dr. Yong Huo of Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, and was published March 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to Dr. Meir Stampfer and Dr. Walter Willett, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, who wrote an accompanying editorial, the study has “important implications for stroke prevention worldwide.”
Category: News
