Vitamin D Appears to Play a Role in Heart Attack and Stroke

Low vitamin D tied to heart, stroke deaths: American Journal of Epidemiology

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Low vitamin D levels in the body may be deadly, according to a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology hinting that adults with lower, versus higher, blood levels of vitamin D may be more likely to die from heart disease or stroke.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin mostly obtained from direct sunlight exposure, but also found in foods and multivitamins.

Dr. Annamari Kilkkinen, at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues compared blood levels of vitamin D and deaths from heart disease or stroke over time in 2,817 men and 3,402 women in Finland.

During follow-up of about 27 years on average, 640 of the participants (358 men) died from heart disease and another 293 (122 men) died from stroke.

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