Bringing Down the Risk of Heart Attack through Vitamin D

If you are a man who has not given too much thought to his Vitamin D intake, here is one strong reason for you to start doing so. Latest health studies have come up with an interesting fact: low levels of Vitamin D in men may put them at greater risk of a heart attack.

According to researchers, Vitamin D, which comes from sunshine and fortified milk, is an essential element of a person’s nutritional schedule and those suffering from Vitamin D deficiency were about two and a half times more likely to have a heart attack than those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

This is what Dr. Edward Giovannucci of Boston’s Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital had to say about the study, “Those with low vitamin D, on top of just being at higher risk for heart attack in general, were at particularly high risk to have a fatal heart attack”. He is also a professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, besides being the lead researcher of the study.

Making these comments during the course of a telephonic interview, Dr. Giovannucci further added, “Particularly for people who live in the northern-most states and in the winter months, when we don’t get a lot of exposure to sunlight,1,000 to 1,500 units a day of Vitamin D may be warranted.”

The study confirmed that men with Vitamin D deficiency were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack even after considering some related facts such as family history, weight, diabetes, and cholesterol levels. Heart disease, according to the American Heart Association, is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world and kills 869,000 people in the U.S. alone annually.

There have already been studies conducted indicating the ill-effects of low vitamin D levels in women: women not getting enough sunlight could apparently be at greater risk of contracting breast cancer.

Research findings also indicate that vitamin D may have many positive connotations for the body. It could go a long way in protecting against colon and breast cancer, peripheral artery disease, and also tuberculosis. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is important for bone health. Its deficiency can lead osteoporosis in adults and rickets in children.

The latest study’s findings corroborate a fact that had emerged in an earlier report by Dr. Thomas Wang of Harvard School in January. That report had also emphasized that low vitamin D levels in men could lead to increased possibility of life-threatening ailments like heart disease, heart failure, and stroke.

Elaborating further, Dr. Giovannucci said, “Many people have low Vitamin levels. Traditionally, physicians have only been concerned about the bone effects. But perhaps having these chronically low levels of Vitamin D may be having this subtle physiological changes in a lot of tissues.”

Dr. Giovannucci also talked about how Vitamin D could reduce the risk of the incidence of heart attack in men - it could bring down blood pressure levels and the possibility of calcium deposits forming in the coronary arteries, a condition referred to commonly as calcification. Other ways it can help reduce the risk of heart attacks is by bringing down the risk of respiratory ailments and also impact the cardiac muscles positively.