Adults with heart disease who have previously experienced a heart attack and took a personalized vitamin D regimen were found to cut their risk of a subsequent heart attack by more than half.
More than 85% of the participants in the TARGET-D randomized clinical trial began the study with vitamin D levels in their blood below 40 ng/ml, a level considered too low for optimal health. While previous findings have concluded low levels of the so-called sunshine vitamin are linked to worse health, the most recent study used personalized doses based on each participant’s blood test results.
“Previous clinical trial research on vitamin D tested the potential impact of the same vitamin D dose for all participants without checking their blood levels first,” said Heidi T. May, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., FAHA, principal investigator of TARGET-D and an epidemiologist and professor of research at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, Utah, in a release from the American Heart Association. “We took a different approach. We checked each participant’s vitamin D levels at enrollment and throughout the study, and we adjusted their dose as needed to bring and maintain them in a range of 40-80 ng/mL.”
The researchers divided participants into two randomized groups: one that did not receive vitamin D management and the other that received tailored supplementation. In the latter group, doses were adjusted every three months until levels were above 40 ng/mL. Levels were then assessed annually thereafter and adjusted as needed.
People who obtained personalized dosing for nearly four years experienced a 52% lower risk of heart attack compared to the non-managed group. Notably, almost 52% of participants in the treatment group required more than 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily to meet their targets, a dose that is more than six times higher than the FDA-recommended amount of 800 IU.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, nearly 40% of Americans are considered deficient in vitamin D.
“We encourage people with heart disease to discuss vitamin D blood testing and targeted dosing with their health care professionals to meet their individual needs,” said May.
