Research mounts on Vitamin K supplementation for heart health

Most people first learn about Vitamin K when it’s recommended to them for some health issue related to blood clotting. But researchers are now proposing Vitamin K supplementing for a non-emergency measure: to promote cardiovascular health and lower the risk of heart disease.

There is a strong link between poor Vitamin K status and cardiovascular mortality, say researchers involved in the Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease study (PREVEND).

Vitamin K deficiency common

The researchers warned that around a third of the population may be deficient.

The PREVEND study demonstrated that functional Vitamin K insufficiency was present in almost one in three of studied subjects, and even higher–around 50%–in specific riskier groups.

These groups include the elderly and subjects with other conditions such as high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.

The main objective of the PREVEND research was to identify the prevalence of Vitamin K deficiency in a general population cohort, and to identify association between insufficiency of the vitamin with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

As the study is observational, poor Vitamin K status cannot be concluded to cause cardiovascular mortality; however, recent intervention trials using Vitamin K have shown effectiveness in reversing kidney, heart and arterial calcification.

Moreover, the recognition of such a high occurrence of Vitamin K insufficiency in a general population cohort is important, suggest the researchers.

Supplementing—an easy fix to a common deficiency

In conclusion, the researchers proposed that supplementation might be an important strategy to improve cardiovascular health–especially in light of the easy access to Vitamin K supplements:

“Importantly, a low Vitamin K status is not only a clinically relevant risk factor for adverse health outcomes, but may also be a modifiable risk factor. Given the availability of Vitamin K supplements, Vitamin K insufficiency seems an attractive target for preventive intervention.”