New Evidence Links Vitamin D Deficiency to Heart Disease

New studies suggest that nutritional factors including vitamin D, magnesium, and others may influence the risk and progression of cardiovascular disease.

In one study, researchers at the University of Alabama (UA; Birmingham, USA) and Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA), led by Suzanne Judd, M.P.H, Ph.D., of UA, identified low vitamin D levels as a common problem with many adverse health effects, including increased rates of cardiovascular disease. According to the researchers, people with vitamin D deficiency are at increased risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease. In patients who already have heart disease, low vitamin D may increase the risk of high blood pressure or sudden death.

In another study, researchers at George Washington University (Washington DC, USA) led by Jay Kramer, Ph.D., of the division of experimental medicine, found that low levels of nutrient magnesium may lead to a cascade of harmful inflammation-promoting events; this may lead to cardiomyopathy, increasing vulnerability to injury from other forms of stress. The researchers cautioned that with the high rate of magnesium deficiency in the population, antioxidants and other medications in addition to magnesium supplements might help in reducing cardiovascular disease.

A third study, by researchers at the University of Tennessee (Memphis, TN, USA) led by German Kamalov, M.D., Ph.D., of the division of cardiovascular diseases, found that patients with heart failure, especially African Americans, are prone to an imbalance of several nutrients. The imbalance is accompanied by activation of certain hormones, leading to inflammation and the wasting of soft tissues and bone. The authors discussed approaches to recognizing this nutritional imbalance, suggesting that a polynutrient supplement that includes calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and vitamins D, B12, and B1 might play a role in heart failure management. The summary of the various studies was published in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS).

"The prospect that macro- and micronutrients may play an important role in the appearance of diseases of the cardiovasculature and their progressive nature is both intriguing and provocative,” said Karl Weber, M.D., director of the division of cardiovascular diseases at the UTK health sciences center, who wrote the preface to the summary. "Despite the tantalizing new evidence, the role of nutrition in the causation, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases is largely unexplored.”

Related Links:
University of Alabama
Emory University
George Washington University
University of Tennessee