Ischemic stroke patients: Take your vitamins, cut future risk
UCLA RESEARCH ALERT
FINDINGS:
Taking recommended doses of B-complex vitamins to reduce levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that increases artery disease risk, may lower ischemic stroke patients' risk of recurring stroke and other future vascular events, according to a new UCLA study of data from the Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) trial. VISP subjects who adhered well to the treatment regimen over the trial period were less likely to experience primary outcome (stroke, heart attack, or death from stroke or heart attack) than poor adherers — 13.4 percent, compared with 20.3 percent. A similar result was observed for 50th percentile or above versus below 25th percentile total pill adherence.
IMPACT:
Promoting good adherence to vitamin therapy may be a viable approach to facilitating favorable outcomes after ischemic stroke.
AUTHORS:
Lead study author Dr. Bruce Ovbiagele, associate professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the Olive View–UCLA stroke program, is available for interviews.
PRESENTATION:
The research was presented Feb. 18 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.
FUNDING:
The National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NIH-NINDS) and the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research at UCLA supported this study.
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