Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism October 2008

New research by scientists (Dr. Stefan Pilz and his team) at the University of Heidelberg in Germany shows that vitamin D deficiency, which is known to affect the ability of the heart to contract, is associated with heart problems, sudden cardiac death, and heart failure.

This study was an almost 8 year study of 3,299 patients.

The bottom line:

Having severe vitamin D deficiency resulted in a 3 fold increase in the risk of dying from heart failure and a five fold increase risk of sudden cardiac death.

“These data strongly indicate that the maintenance of an optimal vitamin D status may be a promising approach for the prevention and/or therapy of (heart) diseases, warranting confirmation in interventional trials with vitamin D supplementation,” Pilz said in the study.

WOW!!!! This is a very exciting study that could really help spread the word about the vitamin D epidemic!