[Vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular diseases]

The increasing worldwide displacement from the natural outdoor environment of human beings to an indoor sedentary lifestyle, along with the recommendation to avoid any direct sun exposure because of the risk of skin cancer, has resulted in a global pandemic of vitamin D insufficiency. Traditionally, vitamin D has been associated primarily with bone health. However, it has become evident that adequate vitamin D status is important for optimal function of many organs and tissues throughout the body, including the cardiovascular system. Vitamin D insufficiency seems to predispose to hypertension, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, and chronic vascular inflammation. The relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose of vitamin D supplements, and cardiovascular events remains to be investigated by ongoing randomized trials; however increasing evidence suggests that the provision of a simple, well-tolerated, and inexpensive correction of vitamin D insufficiency favourably affects the morbility and mortality of cardiovascular disease along with the prevention of the most common chronic degenerative diseases.