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People with low vitamin D levels could be at an increased risk for developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of YeshivaUniversity.

When arteries in the lower part of the human body narrow with plaque (cholesterol and calcium deposits), oxygen and blood flow is impeded. As this condition, called Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease or PAOD, progresses, sufferers begin experiencing the onset of leg pain whenever they walk short distances. This is known in medical parlance as intermittent claudication.

PAD affects about eight million Americans and is the cause of both disease and death, according to the American Heart Association.

Normally we obtain some vitamin D by producing it through skin exposure to sunlight, and by ingesting foods such as oily fish and foods fortified dairy products, or by taking dietary supplements. The achievement and maintenance of adequate vitamin D levels is tied to bone health and may also prevent and even ameliorate Multiple Sclerosis, but now is being seen by many experts as an integral player in relationship to cardiovascular disease.

According to Dr. Micheal Melamed, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the departments of Medicine and Epidemiology & Population Health at Einstein, "We know that in mice, vitamin D regulates one of the hormone systems that effects blood pressure." He added that "Since cells in the blood vessels have receptors for vitamin D, it may directly affect the vessels, although this has not been fully worked out."

In order to see if vitamin D might play a role in the genesis of PAD, Dr. Melamed and colleagues collected and analyzed data from a national survey measuring vitamin D levels in the blood of 4,839 American adults. AS part of this study the researchers tested these people using the ankle-brachial index, a medical screening tool for PAD that measures blood flow to the legs. They also measured other known risk factors for PAD such as serum cholesterol levels, blood pressure and the presence of diabetes.

The scientists saw that higher levels of vitamin D were associated with a lower prevalence of PAD. Indeed, among folks who sported the highest levels of vitamin only 3.7 percent had PAD. Of those with the lowest levels, 8.1 percent had PAD.

When the scientists adjusted for age, sex, race, and co-existing health challenges, they found that PAD was 64 percent more common in those with the lowest vitamin D levels compared with those the highest levels.

Those interested in learning about a scientifically validated herbal product approved in Switzerland for the treatment of PAD are encouraged to read the benefits of Heartrol.

Reference: AlbertEinsteinCollege of Medicine (2008, April 20). Vitamin D May Protect Against Peripheral Artery Disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080416140954.htm