Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Heart Disease
Lee Swanson Research Update
Researchers from Utah presented fresh evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to heart disease at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Conference in Orlando, FL.
Vitamin D has a good reputation even in the worthy company of other vitamins, having been associated variously with cardiovascular health, strong bones, cognitive health, cancer protection and immune health.
Scientists from the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake city now claim to have dug up stronger evidence supporting the cardiovascular benefits of vitamin D. They also claim to have more firmly established the link between a lack of the vitamin in the diet and heart disease.
For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 people who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease.
The participants had their blood vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. They were divided into three groups based on their vitamin D levels—normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml), or very low (less than 15 ng/ml). The scientists then followed them to see if they developed some form of heart disease.
Researchers found that people with very low levels of vitamin D were 77% more likely to die, 45% more likely to develop coronary artery disease and 78% more likely to have a stroke than those with normal levels. They also found that participants with very low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to suffer heart failure.