Vitamin B folate, found in leafy green vegetables, beans and nuts, has been found to minimise the damaging effects of a heart attack, reports reveal.
A study conducted by an international team of heart specialists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that in animals, daily ten milligram doses of folate reduced the amount of muscle tissue exposed to damage to under a tenth.
Commenting on the findings, senior researcher professor David Kass, said: "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."
Statistics show that an estimated 565,000 first-time and 300,000 recurrent heart attacks occur in the US each year.
Professor Kass added: "Folic acid is already well known to be safe to consume in high doses in the short term, and it is very inexpensive, costing pennies per milligram, so its prospects look promising."
The findings follow recent studies that link low-dose folic acid supplements to the possible prevention of dementia in older generations.
