Vitamin D seems to play a role in the functioning of the heart

A new study suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be linked to abnormalities of the heart’s electrical activity.

The observational study investigated a potential link between blood vitamin D concentrations of 5,108 participants and their electrocardiography (ECG) recordings, measuring the heart’s electrical activity, over 13 years (1). The study results showed that 5.9% of participants who had sufficient vitamin D levels (above 40 ng/ml) had ECG abnormalities, while eleven percent with insufficient levels (between 20 and 40 ng/ml) and 13% with vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/ml) showed major ECG abnormalities. Participants who were vitamin D deficient had a 136% increased risk of having ECG major abnormalities.

The researchers commented that vitamin D deficiency may be an independent factor for predicting electrocardiography abnormalities, signs of heart disease. Vitamin D receptors are located throughout the heart, indicating that vitamin D plays a role in the functioning of the heart. Numerous mechanisms have been discovered for vitamin D’s role in heart health (2–4).

1. Tuliani T. A. et al. Major Electrocardiographic Abnormalities and 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Deficiency: Insights from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III. Clinical Cardiology. Published online September 2014.
2. Gardner D. G. et al. Vitamin D and the Cardiovascular System. In Vitamin D: Third Edition by Feldman, Pike, Adams. Academic Press. 2011.
3. Sourij H. & Dobnig H. Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease. In Vitamin D: Third Edition by Feldman, Pike, Adams. Academic Press. 2011.
4. Towler D. A. Vitamin D: Cardiovascular Effects and Vascular Calcification. In Vitamin D: Third Edition by Feldman, Pike, Adams. Academic Press. 2011.