VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY DIRECTLY LINKED TO HEART DISEASE
Scientists from the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City claim that they have fresh evidence directly linking vitamin D deficiency to heart disease. For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 people who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that people with very low levels of vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 78 percent more likely to have a stroke than those with normal levels. They also found that participants with very low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to suffer heart failure. According to Brent Muhlestein, Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Intermountain Medical Centre, this study was unique because the association between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease has not been well established, and this study tackled the link directly. Muhlestein said that the Utah population was well suited to the observational study, "because of Utah's low use of tobacco and alcohol, we were able to narrow the focus of the study to the effects of Vitamin D on the cardiovascular system." He believes the conclusions create an impetus for further study.