Congestive Heart Failure Nutrition: What's Missing for Congestive Heart Disease?

Recent discoveries for congestive heart failure nutrition include simple but effective interventions -- especially getting more sunshine or more vitamin D.

How does low vitamin D CAUSE congestive heart failure? Scientists are saying that:

• "LOW VITAMIN D status can explain alterations in mineral metabolism as well as in myocardial dysfunction," so that the heart has trouble pumping!

• Because we are staying indoors in homes and offices, as well as covering up from the sun, many of us are not getting enough vitamin D.

• Humans make vitamin D, but the majority is synthesized from sun exposure. Lack of sun exposure can result in vitamin D deficiency.

• Find out what the experts say about how this is contributing to increased congestive heart failure:

Why Is Vitamin D Needed for Congestive Heart Failure Nutrition?

Vitamin D deficiency has been found in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).

When 54 patients were compared with 34 healthy people, it was found that CHF patients had vitamin D levels that were up to 50 percent lower than healthy patients.

• The MORE severe the vitamin D deficiency, the WORSE the heart failure symptoms were!

Researchers speculate that vitamin D may play a role in regulating calcium concentration in the cells of the heart muscle.

• If calcium concentration is not controlled, muscle cells cannot expand and contract properly, which means that blood will not be pumped efficiently around the body.

Why Vitamin D Best Congestive Heart Failure Nutrition?

• Vitamin D, it turns out, boosts our natural anti-inflammatory response. And this boost can go a long way to treat a failing heart.

• One clinical trial showed how a high dose of vitamin D could help people with congestive heart failure This trial's results are in line with earlier studies linking heart disease and vitamin D deficiency.

• Researchers gave a dose of 2,000-IU dose of vitamin D supplement versus a placebo per day to 123 CHF patients.

Nine months later, vitamin D patients enjoyed a 43 percent increase a natural anti-inflammatory produced by the body.

The control group, on the other hand, was unchanged, and gained no benefit. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition April 2006; 83(4): 754-75)

• Vitamin D was in this case shown to be an important as congestive heart failure nutrition by improving the body's anti-inflammatory response, a pre-condition for heart disease.

In another clinical trial, researchers randomly assigned patients with CHF (mean age: 75 y) to receive either a placebo or a cocktail of micronutrients that included 400 IU of vitamin D.

• Those who received the nutrient cocktail showed a significant improvement in left ventricular function and quality of life. (Witte KK, Clark AL. Heart Fail Monit 2005;4:123-9)

• According to one of the world’s foremost vitamin D experts, this vitamin not only improves inflammation, but it also improves muscular function, moderates blood pressure, and probably improves glucose tolerance.

These improvements target some of the underlying causes of CHF, including hypertension, myopathy, diabetes, or coronary artery disease.

Vitamins B and D for Heart Failure AND Blood Pressure?

The importance of taking extra vitamin B6 and folate to prevent heart disease was shown as far back as 1980 with the Nurses' Health Study.

Researchers studied 80082 women and found that the risk of heart disease was reduced among women who regularly used multiple vitamins, the major source of folate and vitamin B6, as well as among those with higher dietary intakes of folate and vitamin B6.

“intake of folate and vitamin B6 above the current recommended dietary allowance may be important in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease,” making this vitamin a simple anti aging health supplement for everyone. (JAMA. 1998 Feb 4;279(5):392-3.)

Although fish and fish oils have also been well established as heart nutrition, the role of Vitamin D is less known.

The good news is, that not only can Vitamin D prevent hypertension, but it can help treat it.

• "Hypertension appears to improve with vitamin D supplementation whether or not the vitamin is deficient."

This important point is made in "Benefits beyond the bones -- vitamin D against falls, cancer, hypertension and autoimmune diseases" (Dtsch Med Wochenschr. Feb 28;128(9):440-6. [Article in German] 2003)

One explanation of how congestive heart failure may be be caused by vitamin D deficiency is:

• "Low vitamin D status can explain alterations in mineral metabolism as well as myocardial dysfunction in the CHF patients, and it may therefore be a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of CHF." (J Am Coll Cardiol. Jan 1;41(1):105-12. 2003.)

This new research makes vitamin D a very important congestive heart failure nutrition to consider for both prevention and treatment.

Recommendation for Heart Nutrition Supplements:

Links for Symptoms of Heart Disease:

Congestive Heart Failure Nutrition -- How Vitamin-D Improves Congestive Heart Disease – Congestive Heart Failure