Vitamin D and Heart Related Deaths

According to a study cited in the Archives of Internal Medicine, higher levels of vitamin D were associated with lower overall death rates from cardiovascular causes.* The Australian study included 3,258 patients, average age 62 ,for coronary angiography testing. Blood samples were taken the morning of the test. Over 7.7 years, 463 of the participants died from cardiovascular causes. These results fit into the enlarging picture of adverse effects that may evolve with less than optimal vitamin D levels.

“This prospective cohort study demonstrates for the first time, to our knowledge, that low 25- hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels are associated with increased risk in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared with patients with higher serum vitamin D levels,” wrote lead author Harald Dobnig from the Medical University of Graz, Austria. According to the study, 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 20 ng/mL or higher may be advised for maintaining general health. To receive that amount of vitamin D, the recommend daily intake would need to be raise significantly, from the current 200 IU to 3,000 IU.

More realistic levels of Vitamin D, however, are available in the Viteyes® Multivitamin AREDS Companion and in Viteyes® Complete.

*H. Dobnig, S. Pilz, H. Scharnagl, W. Renner, U. Seelhorst, B. Wellnitz, J. Kinkeldei, B.O. Boehm, G. Weihrauch, W. Maerz. Archives of Internal Medicine. “Independent Association of Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Levels With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality.” Volume 168, Number 12, Pages 1340-1349.