Biomedicines (May 2022)

The Pathogenesis of Cardiac Arrhythmias in Vitamin D Deficiency

  • Maria Barsan,
  • Anca Monica Brata,
  • Abdulrahman Ismaiel,
  • Dinu Iuliu Dumitrascu,
  • Andrei-Vlad Badulescu,
  • Traian Adrian Duse,
  • Stefana Dascalescu,
  • Stefan Lucian Popa,
  • Simona Grad,
  • Lucian Muresan,
  • Carmen Maria Maerescu,
  • Gabriel Cismaru,
  • Vlad Dumitru Brata

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10061239
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 6
p. 1239

Abstract

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The global prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is more than 20%, and the main causes include insufficient intake, reduced absorption, abnormal metabolism, or resistance to its effects. The levels of serum vitamin D appear to influence cardiovascular risk, and the mechanism involved is linked to the transient outward current and the ultrarapid delayed rectifier K+ current densities, activated through the nuclear vitamin D receptor and Akt pathway. A significant number of studies have correlated vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. For this reason, the purpose of this review is to analyze the relation between vitamin D deficiency and the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias. Atrial fibrillation, increased QT interval, and QT dispersion were the most common findings associated with vitamin D deficiency. Due to the heterogeneity among existing studies, further research is necessary to confirm the existing data and to analyze its relationship with other types of arrhythmias.

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