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Review
. 2015 Oct;27(4):264-71.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsha.2015.02.003. Epub 2015 Feb 14.

Vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in cardiac disease and affects patient outcome: Still a myth or a fact that needs exploration?

Zaher Fanari  1 , Sumaya Hammami  1 , Muhammad Baraa Hammami  1 , Safa Hammami  1 , Abdul Abdellatif  2
Affiliations
Review

Vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in cardiac disease and affects patient outcome: Still a myth or a fact that needs exploration?

Zaher Fanari et al. J Saudi Heart Assoc. 2015 Oct.

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that a low vitamin D status may be an important and hitherto neglected factor of cardiovascular disease. This review is an overview of the current body of literature, and presents evidence of the mechanisms through which vitamin D deficiency affects the cardiovascular system in general and the heart in particular. Available data indicate that the majority of congestive heart failure patients have 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency. Furthermore, the low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level has a higher impact on hypertension, coronary artery disease an on the occurrence of relevant cardiac events. A serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level below 75 nmol/l (30 ng/l) is generally regarded as vitamin D insufficiency in both adults and children, while a level below 50 nmol/l (20 ng/l) is considered deficiency. Levels below 50 nmol/l (20 ng/l) are linked independently to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: Cardiovascular outcomes; Congestive heart failure; Coronary artery disease; Vitamin D deficiency.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The relationship between vitamin D and CAD risk factors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Vitamin D deficiency role in the pathogenesis of congestive heart failure.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The relationship between vitamin D levels and the clinical and laboratory parameters of congestive heart failure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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