My doctor says I am low in vitamin D and that puts me at risk for cardiovascular disease. Is he correct? If so, how can I get an adequate level of vitamin D?
Dr. Brownstein’s Answer:
A prospective study involving 41,504 subjects and reported in the American Journal of Cardiology supports what your doctor told you. It showed a highly significant correlation between low vitamin D levels and the development of cardiovascular disease. While researchers found almost 64 percent of those studied had low vitamin D levels, I believe the numbers in the population at large are even higher than that.
Vitamin D deficiency was associated with highly significant increases in the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and peripheral vascular disease. Those without risk factors but with a severe deficiency had an increased likelihood of developing diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The vitamin D levels also were associated with coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.
The authors concluded, “We have confirmed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the general healthcare population, and an association between vitamin D levels and prevalent and incident CV risk factors and outcomes. These observations lend strong support to the hypothesis that vitamin D might play a primary role in CV risk factors and disease.”
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