title: Vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in cardiac disease and affects patient outcome: Still a myth or a fact that needs exploration?
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.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Zaher
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fanari
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Sumaya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammami
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad Baraa
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hammami
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Safa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammami
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdellatif
keywords: Cardiovascular outcomes; Congestive heart failure; Coronary artery disease; Vitamin D deficiency