The relation of plasma total homocysteine levels to prevalent cardiovascular disease in older patients with ischemic stroke.

The objectives of this study were to describe the distribution of serum levels of total homocysteine (HCys) in a sample of older patients consecutively admitted following acute ischemic cerebral stroke, as compared with healthy controls, and to test for possible relationships of HCys levels to some of the prevalent cardiovascular diseases in these stroke patients. One hundred and thirty-seven stroke patients and 132 healthy controls (age > or =60) participated in this study. HCys levels were determined by HPLC method with fluorescence detection.