Vitamin D Boosts Heart Function

Researchers said that when patients with heart failure received vitamin D, the patients showed improved organ pumping ability. This research could provide heart patients with the help they need to regularize their heart beat.

Leader researcher, Dr. Klaus Witte, from the University of Leeds School of Medicine said “These findings could make a significant difference to the care of heart failure patients, It is the first evidence that vitamin D3 can improve heart function of people with heart muscle weakness — known as heart failure.”

The researchers gave 160 patients with pacemakers or who were on blood pressure drugs, vitamin D or a placebo once a day. The vitamin D supplement was one that was not calcium based, since calcium has been shown to cause more problems in heart patients.

The patients who took the vitamin D, showed 26%-34% improvement in heart function, while the placebo group showed no improve.

Researchers said that the improvement seen in the patients, could mean that they would not need a cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). This device is placed in patients, so that it detects dangerous heart rhythm problems. If a irregular heartbeat is detected, the device delivers a shock to normalize the heartbeat.

Witte went on to say that the “ICDs are expensive and involve an operation. If we can avoid an ICD implant in just a few patients, then that is a boost to patients and [health systems] as a whole,”

According to research, it is said that heart failure affects 23 million people a year.