Heart Attack Rates and Supplements

Folic acid, vitamin B12 may not help reduce heart risks.
Time (6/23, Park) reports that a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that "lowering patients' blood levels of homocysteine did not in turn reduce their risk of heart trouble." During "the seven-year study of 12,064 heart-attack survivors, participants took daily supplements of folic acid and vitamin B12, which are known to break down homocysteine in the body." While "the supplementation lowered the amount of the amino acid in patients' blood 28%, it had no effect on rates of heart events or stroke compared with people taking placebo pills."
Reuters (6/23, Joelving) reports, however, that Dr. Jane Armitage, who led the research, said that the findings "are reassuring in the sense that there were no safety concerns."
HealthDay (6/22, Behen) reported that "some previous studies have raised concerns that large doses of folic acid might increase the risk of certain cancers, but" this "study found no increased risk of any form of cancer." HeartWire (6/22, Hughes) also covered the story.