People with low vitamin D levels face an elevated risk for heart attack, heart failure and stroke, according to a study published on Monday suggesting that the vitamin may protect against cardiovascular disease.
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 a number of 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.
Researchers led by Dr. Thomas Wang of Harvard Medical School in Boston followed 1,739 people, average age 59, for 5 years, taking blood samples to gauge vitamin D levels.
Those with low vitamin D levels had about a 60 percent higher risk of a cardiovascular event like heart attack, heart failure or stroke compared to those with higher levels, even with well-known cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure taken into account.
The risk for heart attack, heart failure or stroke was double in people with both high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, and vitamin D deficiency, the researchers said.
The findings were published in Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association.
The people in this study were offspring of original participants in the long-running Framingham Heart Study centered in Massachusetts. They had no prior history of cardiovascular disease. All of them were white.
Steve - the key here is that none of the participants had prior history of heart disease.
1 comment:
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
Depression is increasing day by day because of global economy meltdown these days. A lot of work load to the corporate has led them to be unhealthy. The over work load is disrupting their health schedules, and hence their health concerns are creating a problem. Many corporate employees are reporting to have a severe headache, and heart pains due to increased tension and stress being levied on them. Being one of them, I was having a severe pain on heart and head because of bundles of work being thrust on us. Many of the co-employees were experiencing the same, and many have already gone sick because of unscheduled work, high stress environment round the clock, no exercise, improper food. This was giving a distinguishable impact on the companies work efficiency. And at that time, a corporate wellness program served by a medical service provider elite health was initiated by the company. It was quite an appreciable step to hire a medical service to monitor the health of employees. This decision really ameliorated the working efficiency of the company, which was a direct advantage to the company.
Post a Comment