Coronary artery calcification associated with low vitamin D

For many heart problems want to DECREASE Calcium
and INCREASE Vit K2, Vit D3, Magnesium, and Omega-3

See also VitaminDWiki

• Overview HIV and vitamin D
• Overview Vitamin K and Vitamin D Vitamin Ks reduce CAC
• Overview Cardiovascular and vitamin D
• Smoking reduces vitamin D - many studies
• Vascular calcification greatly reduced by 3 per week 1000 ug of Vitamin K2 MK-7 – Dec 2013

Pages listed in BOTH the categories Cardiovascular and Calcium

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Coronary Artery Calcification 3.3 X more likely if low VitD - June 2016

A Significant Positive Association of Vitamin D Deficiency with Coronary Artery Calcification among Middle-aged Men: For the ERA JUMP Study.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2016 Jun 17:1-7. [Epub ahead of print]
Lee S1, Ahuja V2, Masaki K3, Evans RW2, Barinas-Mitchell EJ2, Ueshima H4, Shin C5, Choo J6, Hassen L2, Edmundowicz D7, Kuller LH2, Willcox B3, Sekikawa A2,4.
1a Institute of Human Genomic Study.
2c Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan, SOUTH KOREA; Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania.
3d Department of Geriatric Medicine , the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii , Honolulu , Hawaii.
4e Department of Health Science , Shiga University of Medical Science , Otsu , Shiga , JAPAN.
5b Department of Internal Medicine.
6g Korea University College of Nursing , Seoul , SOUTH KOREA.
7f Cardiovascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania.

OBJECTIVE:
Although a significant positive association of vitamin D deficiency with coronary heart disease has been demonstrated in cross-sectional as well as prospective studies, only a few studies have examined the association of vitamin D deficiency with subclinical atherosclerosis. We examined whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, as measured by coronary artery calcification (CAC) in asymptomatic adults.
METHODS:
In a population-based cross-sectional study, 195 men aged 40 to 49 years without cardiovascular disease were randomly selected (98 Caucasian and 97 Japanese American men). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was utilized to measure serum vitamin D. CAC was examined by electron beam computed tomography using standardized protocols and read centrally at the University of Pittsburgh using Agatston's methods. To investigate an association between vitamin D deficiency (defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] < 20 ng/mL) and CAC (defined as Agatston score ≥ 10), we utilized multivariable logistic regression models.
RESULTS:
Prevalence of CAC and vitamin D deficiency was 27.2% and 10.3%, respectively. Participants with CAC were significantly older, had significantly higher body mass index (BMI), and had higher rates of smoking. Those with CAC were 3.31 times likely to be vitamin D deficient, after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (odds ratio OR = 3.31, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-9.77).
CONCLUSIONS:
In this population-based study of healthy middle-aged men, vitamin D deficiency had a significant positive association with the presence of CAC.

PMID: 27315115

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Intraplaque hemorrhage 2X more likely if low Vitamin D - June 2016

Vitamin D and Vulnerable Carotid Plaque
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2016 Jun 16. [Epub ahead of print]
McNally JS1, Burton TM2, Aldred BW2, Kim SE2, McLaughlin MS2, Eisenmenger LB2, Stoddard GJ2, Majersik JJ2, Miller DV2, Treiman GS2, Parker DL2.
1From the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (J.S.M., B.W.A., S.-E.K., M.S.M., L.B.E., D.L.P.); Department of Neurology (T.M.B., J.J.M.); Department of Orthopedics, Study Design and Biostatistics Center (G.J.S); Department of Pathology (D.V.M.); and Department of Surgery at the University of Utah and VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah (G.S.T.). scott.mcnally at hsc.utah.edu.
2From the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (J.S.M., B.W.A., S.-E.K., M.S.M., L.B.E., D.L.P.); Department of Neurology (T.M.B., J.J.M.); Department of Orthopedics, Study Design and Biostatistics Center (G.J.S); Department of Pathology (D.V.M.); and Department of Surgery at the University of Utah and VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah (G.S.T.).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
MR imaging-detected carotid intraplaque hemorrhage indicates vulnerable plaque with high stroke risk. Angiotensin II stimulates intraplaque hemorrhage in animal models, and the angiotensin system is highly regulated by vitamin D. Our purpose was to determine whether low vitamin D levels predict carotid intraplaque hemorrhage in humans.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In this cross-sectional study, 65 patients with carotid disease underwent carotid MR imaging and blood draw. Systemic clinical confounders and local lumen imaging markers were recorded. To determine the association of low vitamin D levels with MR imaging detected intraplaque hemorrhage, we performed multivariable Poisson regression by using generalized estimating equations to account for up to 2 carotid arteries per patient and backward elimination of confounders. MR imaging detected intraplaque hemorrhage volume was also correlated with vitamin D levels and maximum plaque thickness. Thirty-five patients underwent carotid endarterectomy, and histology-detected intraplaque hemorrhage was correlated with vitamin D levels and total plaque area.
RESULTS:
Low vitamin D levels (<30 ng/mL, prevalence ratio = 2.05, P = .03) were a significant predictor of MR imaging detected intraplaque hemorrhage, along with plaque thickness (prevalence ratio = 1.40, P < .001). MR imaging detected intraplaque hemorrhage volume linearly correlated with plaque thickness (partial r = 0.45, P < .001) and low vitamin D levels (partial r = 0.26, P = .003). Additionally, histology-detected intraplaque hemorrhage area linearly correlated with plaque area (partial r = 0.46, P < .001) and low vitamin D levels (partial r = 0.22, P = .03). The association of intraplaque hemorrhage volume with low vitamin D levels was also higher with ischemic stroke.
CONCLUSIONS:
Low vitamin D levels and plaque thickness predict carotid intraplaque hemorrhage and outperform lumen markers of vulnerable plaque. This research demonstrates a significant link between low vitamin D levels and carotid intraplaque hemorrhage.

© 2016 American Society of Neuroradiology. PMID: 27313129
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Coronary artery calcification with HIV 2X higher risk if low Vitamin D - Aug 2013

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with coronary artery calcification in cardiovascularly asymptomatic African Americans with HIV infection.
Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2013;9:493-500. doi: 10.2147/VHRM.S48388. Epub 2013 Aug 26.
Lai S, Fishman EK, Gerstenblith G, Brinker J, Tai H, Chen S, Li J, Tong W, Detrick B, Lai H.

Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA ; Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA ; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA ; Department of Epidemiology, John Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath, Baltimore, MD, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with HIV infection are at increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), and growing evidence suggests a possible link between vitamin D deficiency and clinical/subclinical CAD. However, the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and coronary artery calcification (CAC), a sensitive marker for subclinical CAD, in those with HIV infection is not well investigated.

METHODS: CAC was quantified using a Siemens Cardiac 64 scanner, and vitamin D levels and the presence of traditional and novel risk factors for CAD were obtained in 846 HIV-infected African American (AA) participants aged 25 years or older in Baltimore, MD, USA without symptoms or clinical evidence of CAD.

RESULTS: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxy vitamin D <10 ng/mL) was 18.7%. CAC was present in 238 (28.1%) of the 846 participants.
Logistic regression analysis revealed that the following factors were independently associated with CAC:

• age (adjusted odds ratio OR: 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.14);
• male sex (adjusted OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.18-2.49);
• family history of CAD (adjusted OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.05-2.23);
• total cholesterol (adjusted OR: 1.006; 95% CI: 1.002-1.010);
• high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (adjusted OR: 0.989; 95% CI: 0.979-0.999);
• years of cocaine use (adjusted OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.001-1.04);
• duration of exposure to protease inhibitors (adjusted OR: 1.004; 95% CI: 1.001-1.007); and
• vitamin D deficiency (adjusted OR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.31-3.00).

CONCLUSION: Both vitamin D deficiency and CAC are prevalent in AAs with HIV infection.
In order to reduce the risk for CAD in HIV-infected AAs, vitamin D levels should be closely monitored.
These data also suggest that clinical trials should be conducted to examine whether vitamin D supplementations reduce the risk of CAD in this AA population.

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Notes

1. Smoking appears to be a larger factor than lack of vitamin D
2. Vitamin K is not even mentioned
3. Three reasons to be at high risk of vitamin D deficiency: HIV, smoking, dark skin

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