Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart, stroke risk

People with low vitamin D levels face an elevated risk for heart attack, heart failure and stroke, according to recent studies suggesting that the vitamin may protect against cardiovascular disease.  Research was led by Dr. Thomas Wang of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and the findings were published in Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association.

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 several 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.

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.
"Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, especially in areas of the world that don't get a lot of sunlight during the winter months. It's actually fairly straight forward to correct vitamin D deficiency with changes in the diet or the addition of dietary supplements containing vitamin D," Wang said.

The body makes vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. Not many foods are naturally rich in it. It is found in fatty fish such as salmon. Milk commonly is fortified with it.  Experts say exposure to 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine three times weekly is enough to produce necessary vitamin D levels.