Folate Blunts Damage from Heart Attacks
In a new study, published in the April 8 edition of the journal Circulation, it was found that a dose of 10 mg/day of folic acid fed to rats prior to a heart attack yielded smaller infarcts than in the rats fed no supplements. This finding comes on the heels of the international studies in humans which suggested that folic acid supplementation can prevent dementia in the elderly and premature births.
On average, the study showed that the amount of muscle tissue exposed to damage and scarred by the arterial blockage was shrunk to less than a tenth with folic acid supplementation. The team’s findings suggest that human studies should be conducted and questioned whether high dose folate could be given to high risk groups to guard against possible heart attack or to people while they are having them to prevent further damage.
The study showed stable blood flow in the supplement treated group, and post heart-attack chemicals, or reactive free oxygen species was halved in treated rats. Fatal arrhythmias went down from 36.7% to 8.3% in supplement fed rats.
The study’s latest finding was the evidence that folate acts as an energy reserve in the heart providing needed energy for muscle contraction in the form of ATP at the same time the heart is being starved for oxygen-carrying blood by a blocked artery.
High energy phosphate levels went down by 43% in the blood of treated rats but levels dropped by one third more in the untreated rats. With more fuel the heart kept pumping and the smaller heart attacks seemed related to this better energy balance in the heart produced by the folate.
Clinical trials which are expected in the future, would require participants to consume a dose of folic acid comparable to that given the rats or the equivalent of 100 (1) mg. pills per day, a clinical challenge. Safety is another concern since documentation cites 25 mg per day as the highest dose previously tested in humans. Though difficult to extrapolate from rats to humans, the possibilities of a similar pathway in humans is tantalizing.
Again, nutrition is at the forefront of cardiology – this time playing a role in heart attack severity and possibly, prevention. We await further study in this exciting and promising area.
About the Author
Kathy Shattler received her Master of Science degree from Michigan State University in E. Lansing Michigan in Human Nutrition. Her twenty-two years of practice includes holding positions as a Lecturer, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Program Manager. Kathy is the Founder of Nutri-Care Consulting and is currently the Nutrition Director of www.CEU4U.COM, an online continuing education management company for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians.
