Vitamin D May Cut Heart Failure Risk After Heart Attack; Top 5 Foods Rich In Vitamin D

The study that was titled, "Vitamin D Improves Cardiac Function After Myocardial Infarction Through Modulation of Resident Cardiac Progenitor Cells", concluded that consuming the nutrient after a heart attack may save the patient. "Vitamin D has been implicated in the prevention of heart failure. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear", said the authors of the study, in a report in the journal. Vitamin D may prevent excessive scarring and thickening of heart tissue, thus cutting the risk of heart failure following a heart attack.

James Chong, Associate Professor at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia said, "This is a problem because scarring of heart tissue can reduce the heart's ability to pump blood effectively, which can lead to heart failure." The researchers tested the impact of a form of vitamin D- 1,25D. This form of the vitamin interacts with hormones and acts on the cardiac colony-forming unit fibroblasts (cCFU-Fs)cells, which are responsible for forming scar tissue following a heart attack.

Chong said that the research discovered that Vitamin D actually blocks the cCFU-Fs from forming scar tissue and hence, plays an important role in lowering the risk of heart failure in patients who have suffered heart attack or myocardial infarction.

"The benefits of Vitamin D are becoming increasingly known, but we still don't fully understand how mechanistically it can help with heart disease management. We wanted to know more about how Vitamin D protects the heart after a heart attack", added Chong.

The top five foods that are rich in vitamin D are:

1. Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel, etc.

2. Cheese, especially ricotta.

3. Egg yolks

4. Mushrooms

5. Soy products like soy milk

Heart patients must always follow a diet prescribed to them by an expert dietician who is aware of the complications and their case history.

(With inputs from IANS)