Supplements of folic acid could help to reduce the extent of tissue damage during a heart attack, new research suggests.
Folic acid, a synthetic version of the B vitamin folate, is already recommended for women who are trying to conceive or are in the early stages of pregnancy as it reduces the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida.
Now, scientists believe it could be used in short-term, high doses to limit the muscle tissue damaged by arterial blockage.
Tests on rats showed that the amount of muscle tissue exposed to damage was reduced to less than a tenth of that expected when animals were treated with 10mg of folic acid a day for ten days prior to their heart attack.
The findings are due to be published in the journal Circulation and senior investigator Dr David Kass, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, commented: "If human studies prove equally effective, then high-dose folate could be given to high-risk groups to guard against possible heart attack or to people while they are having one."
Supplements of folic acid could help to reduce the extent of tissue damage during a heart attack, new research suggests.
