ARRHYTHMOGENIC POTENTIAL OF VITAMIN D INSUFFICIENCY

ZEKI YÜKSEL GÜNAYDIN¹, ASLI VURAL², AHMET KARAGÖZ², OSMAN BEKTA޳, ABDULLAH ÇELIK⁴, TUNA SEMERCI⁵, HAKAN KARA⁶, ESIN AVCI⁷

¹Department of Cardiology, Ordu University, Ordu - ²Department of Cardiology, Giresun University, Giresun - ³Department of Cardiology, Ordu University, Ordu - ⁴Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Giresun University, Giresun - ⁵Department of Biochemistry, Giresun University, Giresun - ⁶Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Private Ada Hospital, Giresun - ⁷Department of Statistics, Giresun University, Giresun, Turkey

Introduction: Although the reports are also present demonstrating the exact opposite, general opinion is that vitamin D has favorable effects on cardiovascular system. The association between vitamin D insufficiency and coronary artery disease, heart failure and hypertension were well demonstrated. Nevertheless the impact of vitamin D insufficiency on arrhythmia remains unclear.

Materials and methods: Low vitamin D and control groups consisted of 74 and 80 patients respectively. Parameters of arrhythmia including QT and P wave dispersion, SDNN, SDNN-index, pNN50, RMSSD, HF and LF as well as the number of atrial pre-systole, atrial pair, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular pre-systole, ventricular pair, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, sustained ventricular tachycardia were compared between the patients with vitamin D insufficiency and controls.

Results: Maximum QTc, minimumQTc, QTc dispersion, maximum p wave, minimum p wave, p wave dispersion, SDNN, SDNN index, RMSSD, pNN50, HF and LF values were found to be similar between low vitamin D and control groups (p>0,05). Furthermore there was not a significant difference in the number of atrial pre-systole, atrial pair, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular presystole, ventricular pair, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and sustained ventricular tachycardia (p>0,05). Additionally, serum vitamin D levels were not found to be correlated with QTc dispersion and SDNN (r=-0,010, p=0,933 and r=-0,034, p=0,777 respectively).

Conclusion: Serum vitamin D levels do not have any impact on the current arrhythmic status and the risk of developing arrhythmia. Beside the questioned value of vitamin D in general cardiovascular outcomes, arrhythmia is unlikely to be a component of the possible effects of vitamin D insufficiency on cardiovascular system.