Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart, stroke risk

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People with low vitamin D levels face an elevated risk for heart attack, heart failure and stroke, according to a study published on Monday suggesting that the vitamin may protect against cardiovascular disease.

The elevated risk was particularly acute among those with high blood pressure, the researchers found.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health, but a number of studies have indicated it might provide a number of other benefits. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, and it can lead to rickets in children.

Researchers led by Dr. Thomas Wang of Harvard Medical School in Boston followed 1,739 people, average age 59, for 5 years, taking blood samples to gauge vitamin D levels.

Those with low vitamin D levels had about a 60 percent higher risk of a cardiovascular event like heart attack, heart failure or stroke compared to those with higher levels, even with well-known cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure taken into account.

The risk for heart attack, heart failure or stroke was double in people with both high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, and vitamin D deficiency, the researchers said.

The findings were published in Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association.

Wang called the findings intriguing but said it was too early to say that taking vitamin D supplements would lower one's risk for heart disease or stroke, and premature to recommend that people take such supplements for that purpose.