Vitamin D deficiency related with hypertension, a new study finds.  A recent study asks whether taking vitamin D supplements reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke. Scientists recommend that adults between the ages of 19 and 70 require 600 IU of vitamin D per day for . 

  Vit D deficiency mostly seen in African and dark skinned people. Vitamin D is good for bones, but profoundly influences heart too. Vitamin D supplements do not cure cardiovascular risk factors in vitamin D deficient persons.

Vitamin D Deficiency correlates with Cardiovascular Disease

Early prospective studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of high blood pressure or sudden cardiac death in individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Few clinical studies are relating the effects of vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular health. 

Vitamin D can be produced by the skin as vitamin D3 from exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet B rays, or it can be taken as vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 with food. Once vitamin D enters the body, it circulates along with the vitamin D binding protein is rapidly converted in the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin DD, the main circulating form. 

People with vit D deficiency (D < 20 ng/ml) had a higher chance of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and heart failure than those with high vitamin D levels. In the most recent NHANES 2000-2004 review, vitamin D deficiency (D < 20 ng/ml) is associated with an increased prevalence of self-reported coronary artery disease, heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease. 

 NHANES 1988-1994 Several cardiovascular risk factors were associated with lower vitamin D status, including hypertension, diabetes, elevated body mass index, elevated triglyceride levels, and microalbuminuria from D to the highest quartile of 25(OH). NHANES 19881994 determined that optimal vitamin D status in non-hypertensive individuals provided a 20% reduction in the rate of increase in blood pressure with age. 

 In the Framingham Progeny Study, subjects with no history of cardiovascular disease and with severe vitamin D deficiency (D <10 ng/mL) had higher levels 25. (OH)D. Vitamin D  in subjects with cardiovascular disease or end-stage renal disease Conditions and cardiovascular disease risk were also assessed. In the 4,444 men and women who participated in the Healthcare Professional Follow-up and Nurses Health Study of Vit D Deficiency, the risk of intermittent hypertension increased by 3-6 fold over a 4-year follow-up period compared to those who remained optimal. Vitamin D Status 

 Given the initial epidemiologic link between vitamin D and high blood pressure, early research on vitamin D supplementation focused on vitamin D as a potential antihypertensive agent. 

 Meanwhile, it may be wise to screen those at high risk for vit D deficiency and treat them with vitamin D up to a 25(OH)D level of 30 ng/ml. Current data do not strongly support testing for vit D deficiency in all patients with or at risk of cardiovascular disease. For the general population,  a daily supplement of at least 1,000 IU per day, especially in high latitudes at the equator or during winter, may be sufficient to boost vitamin D status.