Sunday, May 26, 2013

Friday, December 26, 2008 karen asks

Q: How does Vitamin D deficiency cause heart disease?

My blood pressure diastolic number is around 100 and I was diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency at the same time. I'm now taking Vit D3 supplements and Lisinopril 20mg to bring down my bp (not yet working).  I had pain that never went away after a hysterectomy a year ago, gradually the pain spread to my legs, butt, and hip muscles.  It would get worse with light walking or after being on my feet or sitting.  It seemed like circulation to my legs was getting cut off.  Vitamin D3 turned off the pain and improved my circulation, although I don't believe it's repairing anything permanently.  Six years ago I used cholesterol drugs to lower my cholesterol.  It caused subtle muscle fatigue, but it took me 2 years to figure out it was the cholesterol meds.  Since then my muscles never seemed the same. I joined a gym to strengthen my muscles but never felt the "good" feeling from exercise and never was able to increase the weights I was lifting. Is this muscle thing a cause for the high blood pressure? Is this how Vit D deficiencies cause heart disease?  My cardiologist doesn't know how Vit D causes heart disease.

Answer This
Answers (1)
Lisa Nelson, Health Pro
12/27/08 2:55pm

Hi Karen,

 

I'm not able to address your concerns; however, let me give you some feedback on vitamin D.

 

I do not know of a direct link between vitamin D and heart disease; however, vitamin D is involved in many basic bodily functions. The one that may affect your heart is the absorption of calcium. Vitamin D is needed for the reabsorption of calcium from the kidneys. It's possible this may have caused a mineral imbalance. Also, calcium is needed for muscle contraction. You could hypothesize that your vitamin D deficiency caused low calcium reabsorption resulting in a mineral imbalance affecting your muscles. I do not have concrete science to back that up. It's best to continue to work with your MD to treat your condition. It may take some "trial and error" before you find what works for you.

 

All the best,

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Diet to Lower High Blood Pressure Naturally

 

Reply
Answer This

Important:
We hope you find this general health information helpful. Please note however, that this Q&A is meant to support not replace the professional medical advice you receive from your doctor. No information in the Answers above is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The views expressed in the Answers above belong to the individuals who posted them and do not necessarily reflect the views of Remedy Health Media. Remedy Health Media does not review or edit content posted by our community members, but reserves the right to remove any material it deems inappropriate.

By karen— Last Modified: 11/22/10, First Published: 12/26/08