Vitamin D supplements could promote heart health, new study says

BOSTON - New research finds that vitamin D supplements may promote heart health.

Previous studies have not shown a clear heart benefit from taking vitamin D supplements. But in the largest trial of its kind to date, Australian researchers looked at more than 20,000 people 60 and older and found that compared to those on a placebo pill, the subjects who took a high-dose vitamin D supplement once a month for up to five years were less likely to experience a major heart event like a heart attack, stroke, or a procedure to restore blood flow to the heart.

The differences were small and not definitive but could suggest that people, especially those at higher risk for heart disease, may benefit from vitamin D supplements.  But more research is needed before any formal recommendations can be made.

In:
• Health
• Heart Disease

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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