Taking daily vitamin D3 improves the heart health in people who have chronic heart failure, a study has revealed for the first time.
The finding – the culmination of a five-year research project by the University of Leeds, England – has been claimed as a breakthrough for people with the condition.
But the British Heart Foundation warned there was no indication that the treatment improve patient fitness.
Consultant cardiologist Dr Klaus Witte from the School of Medicine, who led the VINDICATE study, presented the findings at the American College of Cardiology conference yesterday, telling delegates that it is a significant breakthrough.
“It is the first evidence that vitamin D3 can improve heart function of people with heart muscle weakness – known as heart failure. These findings could make a significant difference to the care of heart failure patients,” he said.
The Medical Research Council funded study involved more than 160 patients who were being treated for heart failure.
They were randomly placed into two different groups, one of which took vitamin D3, while the other took a placebo.
The heart function of those who had vitamin D3 was improved after the 12-month study, something that was not seen in those who took the placebo.
Changes in heart function were measured by cardiac ultrasound and in the 80 patients who took vitamin D3, the heart’s pumping function improved from 26% to 34%. In the others, who took placebo, there was no change in cardiac function.
Dr Witte said it means that taking vitamin D3 could also reduce some heart patients’ need to be fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
“ICDs are expensive and involve an operation,” he said. “If we can avoid an ICD implant in just a few patients, then that is a boost to patients and the NHS as a whole.”
Importantly, researchers avoided using a calcium-based supplement, which can cause further problems for heart failure patients, added Dr Witte.
Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Ideally, any new treatment for heart failure should make patients feel better and live longer. This research found that giving 12 months vitamin D supplementation to heart failure patients with subnormal vitamin D levels was safe and measurements of heart function showed some improvement.
“However, there was no significant improvement in the patients’ ability to exercise. A much bigger study over a longer period of time is now needed to determine whether these changes in cardiac function can translate into fewer symptoms and longer lives for heart failure patients.”
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