Low Vitamin D Level Linked To Heart Attack Risk

Men with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to suffer from fatal heart attack than those with normal levels of Vitamin D.

Eat food that is rich with vitamin D and get some sun exposure (ask you doctor how much sun) because new research shows that low vitamin D levels are linked with heart attack risk in men.

A joint team of researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston examined 900 men with cardiovascular history and 454 men aged from 40 to 75 who suffered from heart attack or died from heart disease. Their blood samples were tested for vitamin D levels, and then the participants were followed for 10 years.

Researchers considered the 15 nanograms per milliliter of blood level of vitamin D as deficiency, and 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood level as a normal level. Those men with lower levels of vitamin D were found to be 2.5 times more likely to suffer from heart attack. They were also more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack.

The study doesn't explain how vitamin D levels affect heart events, but the researchers suggest that there can be numerous ways for vitamins to work. Vitamin D can 'lower blood pressure, regulate inflammation, reduce calcification of coronary arteries, affect the heart muscle or reduce respiratory infections'.

This research comes to support other previous researchers showing vitamin D health benefits. Vitamin D deficiency was previously linked to numerous diseases, such as colon and breast cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis. Previously it was only considered as a factor seriously affecting bone strength, because it is an important factor for absorbing calcium, but more and more researches and health professionals started talking about other health benefits of vitamin D and showing how its deficiency affects overall health.

Vitamin D is mainly contained in milk and fatty fish, such as salmon, but eating these types of food is not enough. After eating vitamin-rich food a person must be exposed to sunlight to generate vitamin. Everyone is urged to check vitamin D levels in blood and always take vitamin-rich food. There are also many types of supplements that can be added to daily nutrition of a person and improve vitamin levels.