Common vitamin may protect some heart attack survivors, study says
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People with a history of cardiac arrest could protect themselves from future risks with a simple daily habit.
A study from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, Utah, found that supplementing with vitamin D3 can significantly reduce the risk of a second heart attack in those who have already had one.
In a large randomized clinical trial, researchers monitored patients’ blood levels of vitamin D, while adjusting doses to “achieve optimal levels,” according to a news release.
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They found that treating heart attack patients with higher doses of vitamin D3 cut the risk of a second heart attack in half.
The findings were presented Sunday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 in New Orleans.
Vitamin D3 supplementation can cut the risk of a heart attack recurrence in half, a new study found. (iStock)
The study, called the TARGET-D trial, involved 630 patients between April 2017 and May 2023 who had experienced a heart attack in the previous month. Eighty-five percent had insufficient levels of vitamin D3.
The participants were divided into two groups: one received specific treatment with vitamin D3 and the other did not. The goal was to raise blood levels to more than 40 nanograms per milliliter (40 ng/ml).
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Participants in the vitamin D treatment group had their blood levels checked once a year to determine if they were above 40 ng/ml.
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More than half of them required an initial dose of 5,000 international units (IU). (Most adults are recommended to take 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day to maintain a level of around 30 to 50 ng/ml.)
Participants were followed until March 2025 to monitor their cardiovascular health. Of the 630 patients, 107 experienced a major cardiac event.
Vitamin D3 has been linked to better cardiovascular health in previous studies. (iStock)
Lead researcher Heidi May, Ph.D., a cardiovascular epidemiologist at Intermountain Health, said in a statement that no adverse outcomes were seen after higher doses of vitamin D3 were administered.
“We are excited [about] these results, but we know we have more work to do to validate these findings,” he said.
“Normal vitamin D levels have been shown to decrease coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.”
According to May, up to two-thirds of people worldwide have low levels of vitamin D.
Sun exposure is the most common natural method for obtaining sufficient amounts of the vitamin, but it has declined due to lifestyle changes in recent years, according to Intermountain.
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Dr. Bradley Serwer, a Maryland-based interventional cardiologist and medical director of VitalSolution, who was not involved in the study, said it has “long been recognized” that maintaining optimal levels of vitamin D offers “substantial cardiovascular benefits.”
“Previous studies have established a correlation between low serum vitamin D levels and an elevated risk of hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure,” he told News Digital.
More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in lower-risk populations. (iStock)
However, previous research failed to show how effective vitamin D supplements were in reducing the risk of heart attacks, according to Serwer.
“Notably, these studies often prescribed a standard replacement dose that was often insufficient to restore healthy vitamin D levels,” he noted.
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These new findings of a 50% reduction in the risk of having a second heart attack, while encouraging, involved higher-risk patients and may not apply to lower-risk populations, the cardiologist noted.
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“More research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in lower-risk individuals,” he said. “If vitamin D levels are within the normal range, the evidence on the benefits of additional supplementation is inconclusive.”
Vitamin D is “more of a hormone than a vitamin,” which is “crucial for organ function, including the heart,” one doctor said. (iStock)
News Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Marc Siegel commented in a separate interview with News Digital that this study highlights what is already known about vitamin D and heart health.
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“This is an important study on how to maintain normal levels,” he said. “Vitamin D deficiency causes inflammation and blood clotting. Normal vitamin D levels have been shown to decrease coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.”
Siegel added that vitamin D is “more of a hormone than a vitamin,” which is “crucial for organ function, including the heart.”
Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for News Digital.