Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
Anyone have any info on Vit D3 and the onset of afib?
Vitamin D3 is supposed to be very, very, very good for your heart!
Do you know your D3 level (that would be the 25 Hydroxy D)?
I got most of my information off of Dr. Mercolas site.
He says < 50 ng/ml is deficient
Between 50-70 ng/ml is optimal
Between 70 100 ng/ml can treat cancer and heart disease
> 100 ng/ml is excess
He also says that the best way to get D3 is through unfiltered sun exposure!
But beware; the sun should be at least 50 elevation to deliver the correct rays (it seems that the angle at which the sunlight comes through the atmosphere effect the uv rays).
It also depends on your skin type as to how long you should stay out. I stayed out 20 minutes per side last year. You should never let yourself get burnt and you should expose as much of your body as possible to the sun.
I found out what my exact location was and, using the following link was able to figure out at what times the sun would be high enough. I made a chart and now Im waiting for April 10th so I can go out between 1 and 2 oclock! (My sunning season goes from April 10th to September 1st). Last September my vitamin D3 level was 56ng/ml. (and I was a healthy bronze to boot!)
Im sure there are other web pages, but this is the one I used.
http://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.php
I hope that helps!
For me I don't believe there's any connection.
I started to be sensitive to vitamin D3 when my D3 blood level went over 55. So, I stopped taking the D3 and my afib got better.
acrossthepond -
Do you know why the D3 is supposed to be good for the heart? I know D3 is good for a lot things (immune system, bones, etc) in the body, but why specially for the heart? Thanks.
Scott
The vitamindcouncil.org site explains vitamin D works to reduce heart disease risks:
Vitamin D may lower the risk of CHD incidence and death by reducing:
- Metabolic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure
- Thickening of the arterial walls
- Risk of respiratory infections
- Inflammation
- Risk of arterial calcification or hardening
From the mercola.com site:
There are only about 30,000 genes in your body and vitamin D has been shown to influence about 3,000 of them.
That is one of the primary reasons it influences so many diseases, from cancer and autism to heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis, just to name a few.
A new study has linked a lack of sunshine, the body's most natural source of vitamin D, to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease.
Factors that affect sunlight, and therefore vitamin D production, are tied to a patient's cardiovascular risks. In other words, the more sunlight you get, the better your cardiovascular health will be. These factors can include time of year, altitude, and geographical location.
There are a number of physiological mechanisms triggered by vitamin D production through sunlight exposure that act to fight heart disease, according to the study:
- An increase in the body's natural anti-inflammatory cytokines.
- The suppression of vascular calcification.
- The inhibition of vascular smooth muscle growth.
The above mentioned study: British Journal of Nutrition October 2005; 94(4): 483-492
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/12/13/how-vitamin-d-protects-your-heart.aspx
The following is some interesting tidbits about vitamin D in connection with a-fib.
From the a-fib.com site:
Excessive Vitamin D is rare and is not caused by excessive exposure to the sun, or foods containing Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency contributes to the development of both A-Fib and Dementia. (See Boston AF 2011: A-Fib and Dementia by Dr. T. Jared Bunch.) Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. A deficiency in vitamin D can cause an imbalance in Magnesium and Calcium, and contribute to heart palpitations.
From the stopafib.org site: in a chat from May 31, 2013. The question was if vitamin D could help prevent a-fib attacks. The answer:
A study of a large US population did not found evidence for a link between vitamin D levels in blood and the development of AF; this suggests that vitamin D deficiency does not promote the development of AF. Smaller studies comparing AF patients with matched control groups have shown that the AF patients had lower levels of vitamin D than the control. As there is some evidence for benefit of vitamin D with respect to cardiovascular health, if your vitamin D levels are low, taking a supplement is not likely to increase risk of AF and may be helpful. There is not solid evidence to support this at present.
From the vitamindcouncil.org site:
The investigators found in an observational study of 132,000 subjects at Intermountain Medical Center that patients with 25(OH)D serum levels greater than 100 ng/ml were at a 2.5 times greater risk of developing atrial fibrillation. They found no increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation in levels of 0-20 ng/ml, 21-40 ng/ml, 61-80 ng/ml or 81-100 ng/ml. They did find an increased risk of hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, and renal failure for those who were deficient (0-20 ng/ml).
The following article concentrates on how vitamin D can help lower your blood pressure which, in turn will help lower your risk of stroke and heart attack.
The article was published June 12, 2013
http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/406665/Vitamin-D-cuts-blood-pressure-and-slashes-risk-of-stroke-and-heart-attack
Scientists have found a direct link between a deficiency in vitamin D caused by lack of exposure to the sun and hypertension, which also raises the likelihood of stroke and heart attacks.
"Vitamin D has been called the 'Wonder Vitamin' as it plays a truly remarkable role in the body and is essential for all round good health. Vitamin D has been found to influence all 36 organ tissues in the body.
"It is not only vital for strong bones, but is now known for its role in the immune system, hormone metabolism, brain function and mood, Cardio-vascular function and now blood pressure regulation. While scientific data is mounting on almost a daily basis about the enormous benefits of vitamin D, at the same time it is clear most of us are not getting enough vitamin D due to the lack of sunlight we are exposed to throughout the year.
For me, personally, with no scientific studies (just purely observational) I find lying in the warm sun, listening to the birds sing feeling a soft breeze on my body does my heart good. :-)
atp