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Cardiovascular · Marker 03

Hcy · Homocysteine

Homocysteine is a small molecule your body makes during normal protein metabolism. B vitamins clear it.

Educational, never diagnosticReviewed Apr 14, 2026

Common reference range

5–8 µmol/L

Worth watching
Above 10 µmol/L
Population median
9.4 µmol/L
Units
µmol/L

Your record always keeps the range printed on the report the result came from, which can differ from the range above.

Why it matters

What Hcy tells you.

If yours is elevated, it usually means you're low on B12, folate, or B6, or you have a common genetic variant that needs the methylated form. Easy to fix once you know.

Homocysteine is produced during methionine metabolism and cleared through pathways that require B12, folate, and B6. Elevated levels imply either a methylation defect or a nutrient gap.

Modestly elevated homocysteine is associated with vascular risk and cognitive decline. The intervention is usually inexpensive and well-tolerated.

What the record reads

The direction, not one number.

Whether it normalizes after B-vitamin support, and stays there.

Hcy · µmol/L · six results

Illustrative series

Once you file two results, the record compares them to each other rather than to a population average, and names the report each value came from.

What can influence it

The things that move Hcy.

In rough order of effect, and read alongside your own history rather than on their own.

  1. 01

    Methylated B-vitamins

    Methylfolate and methyl-B12 in MTHFR-variant patients.

  2. 02

    B6 sufficiency

    Supports the trans-sulfuration arm of clearance.

  3. 03

    Renal function

    Declining eGFR raises homocysteine independently of nutrition.

  4. 04

    Coffee intake

    High intake modestly elevates levels.

Daily things that show up here

  • Take a methylated B-complex if elevated
  • Eat more leafy greens and eggs
  • Moderate coffee intake
  • Re-test 8, 12 weeks after supplementing

In your record

What happens when a Hcy result arrives.

The same four steps for every result, whether you upload a report or type a value in by hand.

  1. 01

    Filed to its date

    The value is stored against the day it was drawn, with the report it came from kept alongside it.

  2. 02

    Named and normalized

    Homocysteine is recognised as one measure, so the same marker from two labs joins one series.

  3. 03

    Read in plain language

    You see what it measures, whether it sits in the printed range, and what usually moves it.

  4. 04

    Shared only if you say so

    A clinician sees this result when you grant scoped, expiring access, and the view is logged.

This page is educational. It does not diagnose, and it does not replace a conversation with a clinician who can see your history.

Where to go next

  • Start with one report

    Upload a single lab report and Hcy is filed to its date, named and read back in plain language.

    Create my free record

  • Find someone to read it with

    The directory opens filtered to clinicians who work with cardiovascular markers.

    Verified clinicians

  • Read the evidence

    The reading list opens searched for Hcy, with every study linked back to its source.

    Studies on Hcy

Read alongside

Other cardiovascular markers.

References

Where this comes from.

  1. Smith AD, Refsum H. Homocysteine, B Vitamins, and Cognitive Impairment. Annu Rev Nutr. 2016;36:211-239. DOI

Reviewed by Dr. Sarah Chen, MD · Last reviewed Apr 14, 2026