Vitamine D et risque cardiovasculaire

To identify the major cardiovascular risk factors remains the priority of the medical staff and different actors of socioeconomic health. The hypothesis of a role of vitamin D on cardiovascular system is recent and raises a lot of hope independently of its effect on calcium. The association is found by various studies in different populations and groups living in different conditions. Increasing number of experimental studies has not completely established the various mechanisms of such association. Nevertheless, all studies in vitro and in animals prove that low levels of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D are associated with hypertension, vascular calcifications, diabetes and heart failure. Normalizing plasma level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D could prevent cardiovascular diseases, especially in vulnerable patients including women, elderly and obese people. Despite these exciting data it is too early to recommend vitamin D for prevention or therapy of cardiovascular disease.