Heart disease is the number one cause of death for adults over 65. Many older people also have low levels of Vitamin D in their blood, and past research has shown a link between low Vitamin D and heart problems.
But does taking Vitamin D supplements really help protect the heart? A new study says probably not.
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center wanted to find out if taking more Vitamin D could lower the levels of two specific proteins in the blood. These proteins can show if the heart is under stress or damaged.
Their study was very carefully done—it was a double-blind, randomized trial, which means neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was taking which dose. This makes the results more reliable.
The study found that even when people took higher doses of Vitamin D, it didn’t lower their risk of heart disease. The results were published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology and suggest that Vitamin D supplements are not helpful for preventing heart problems, even in people who have low levels of this vitamin.
Dr. Katharine W. Rainer, the lead researcher, said that earlier studies had only shown a connection between low Vitamin D and heart disease. But this new trial clearly showed that taking Vitamin D doesn’t actually help the heart, even if the dose is high and taken over two years.
The researchers used data from a larger study called STURDY. That study originally looked at how Vitamin D3 affected falls in adults over 70.
These participants had low Vitamin D levels. Between 2015 and 2019, people in the study were divided into four groups. Each group took a different amount of Vitamin D3 daily—200, 1000, 2000, or 4000 international units (IU).
During the two-year study, blood samples were taken to check the levels of the two heart-related proteins. At the beginning, people with less Vitamin D did have higher levels of one protein. But over time, taking Vitamin D supplements didn’t reduce the levels of either protein. This was true no matter how much Vitamin D people took.
The findings didn’t change for people of different ages, genders, or races. They also stayed the same for people with health problems like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Dr. Stephen P. Juraschek, the senior author, pointed out that while low Vitamin D is linked to heart disease, other things might be more important for heart health. For example, getting outside and being active could play a bigger role than taking supplements.
This study adds to growing evidence that Vitamin D supplements don’t prevent heart disease. Even though low Vitamin D levels are a warning sign, simply taking pills may not be the answer. Scientists say more research is needed to find out what really causes heart disease in people with low Vitamin D.
If you’re interested in heart health, you may want to read other studies that suggest apple juice might help your heart and yogurt could lower the risk of dying from heart disease. There is also research that says a lack of Vitamin D may raise the risk, and nutrients like zinc and vitamin B6 might help reduce it.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and Vitamin K2 could help reduce heart disease risk.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about how to remove plaques that cause heart attacks, and results showing a new way to prevent heart attacks, strokes.
The results of this study were published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
