Medical history (history of illness) represents a building block in the diagnosis of hyperhomocysteinemia.
Family history
- What is the general health status of your relatives?
Social history
- Is there any evidence of psychosocial stress or strain due to your family situation?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- Do you experience heart pain, chest tightness, or shortness of breath under stress?* .
- Do you suffer from frequent headaches, blurred vision or dizziness?
- Do you have pain in your legs when walking that forces you to stop for short periods of time?
- Do you have erectile dysfunction?
Vegetative anamnesis including nutritional anamnesis.
- Do you eat a balanced diet?
- Do you get enough exercise every day?
- Are you overweight? Please indicate your body weight (in kg) and height (in cm).
- Do you smoke? If yes, how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day?
- Do you drink alcohol? If yes, what drink(s) and how many glasses per day?
- Do you use drugs? If yes, what drugs and how often per day or per week?
Self history incl. medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions (cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, Helicobacter pylori infection, hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism), renal insufficiency (kidney weakness), psoriasis).
- Operations
- Allergies
Medication history (drugs that interfere with methionine–homocysteine metabolism or induce an excess demand for folic acid, B6 and B12, among others).
- Antagonists of folic acid, vitamin B6, and B12 metabolism.
- Folic acid: methotrexate (analog of folic acid (vitamin B9); it competitively and reversibly inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) as a folic acid antagonist), trimethoprim, antiepileptic drugs.
- Vitamin B6: theophylline
- Vitamin B12: inhibition or interference of absorption by metformin and proton pump inhibitors, respectively.
- Isoniazid
- N-acetylcysteine – interferes with SH group transfer.
- Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
- Lipid-lowering agents of the fibrate type – possible impairment of renal elimination (excretion via the kidneys).
* If this question has been answered with “Yes”, an immediate visit to the doctor is required! (Data without guarantee)