US Pharm. 2008;33(3):11.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital involved with the Framingham Heart Study reported that moderate vitamin D deficiency nearly doubles the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure over a mean of 5.4 years in patients with high blood pressure. Their findings were published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers said that up to half of middle-age and older adults in the U.S. have low levels of circulating vitamin D. According to lead investigator Thomas J. Wang, MD, what has not yet been proven is that vitamin D deficiency actually causes increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the data may support the fact that vitamin D deficiency may promote development of hypertension, and the researchers caution that "hypertension could magnify the adverse effects of vitamin D deficiency."

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