- With Mayo Clinic emeritus hypertension specialist
Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
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Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
Sheldon Sheps, M.D.
Dr. Sheldon Sheps, emeritus professor of medicine and former chair of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1960.
Dr. Sheps, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, is board certified in internal medicine and specializes in hypertension and peripheral vascular diseases. He developed a multidisciplinary approach with specially trained nurses, dietitians, technicians and educators to help form a team approach to the treatment of patients with abnormal blood pressure.
"I have always believed in involving the patient and family in their health care," Dr. Sheps says. "I have asked for their understanding of the illness and issues and for participation in decisions. The Web is a natural extension of that, and now many more people can be informed."
Dr. Sheps chaired the sixth working group, and he participated in the fourth, fifth and seventh groups that developed the then-latest guidelines for hypertension under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). He helped write the latest American Heart Association (AHA) report on blood pressure measurement. He chaired an AHA group that produced an online accreditation for blood pressure measurement for health professionals.
Dr. Sheps has co-authored books, newsletters, CD-ROMs and other Mayo Clinic health information material. He joined Mayo Clinic's Web team in 1998. He was medical editor-in-chief of both editions of the "Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure" book; the last edition was published in 2003. He was also medical editor-in-chief of "Mayo Clinic 5 Steps to Controlling High Blood Pressure," published in 2008.
In addition, Dr. Sheps was section editor for each of the first three editions of "Hypertension Primer" for the American Heart Association.
Dr. Sheps was also chairman of the Science Base Subcommittee and the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, and he was a consultant to the Hypertension Initiative of the World Health Organization. In 1997, he was honored with the Individual Achievement Award on the 25th anniversary of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of NHLBI. In 2009, he was honored as a Distinguished Mayo Alumnus.
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Question
Vitamin D deficiency: Can it cause high blood pressure?
Can vitamin D deficiency cause high blood pressure?
Answer
from Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D.
It's long been known that getting too little vitamin D weakens bones. The role vitamin D may play in developing high blood pressure and heart disease is less clear.
Vitamin D deficiency may be linked to heart disease and a higher risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). It's too early to say whether too little vitamin D causes high blood pressure — or whether vitamin D supplements may have any role in the treatment of high blood pressure.
Still, vitamin D remains an important nutrient for overall good health. The Institute of Medicine recommends 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day for adults ages 19 to 70. For adults age 71 and older, the recommendation increases to 800 IU a day. Some doctors question whether these levels are adequate and think that getting more vitamin D would benefit many people. However, the Institute of Medicine recommends that adults avoid taking more than 4,000 IUs a day.
If you're concerned that you're getting too little — or too much — vitamin D, contact your doctor. He or she may recommend a blood test to check the level of vitamin D in your blood.
Next questionOmega-6 fatty acids: Can they cause heart disease?
- Pittas AG, et al. Systematic review: Vitamin D and cardiometabolic outcomes. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010;152:307.
- Judd SE, et al. Vitamin D deficiency and risk for cardiovascular disease. American Journal of Medical Sciences. 2009;338:40.
- Pilz S, et al. Vitamin D status and arterial hypertension: A systematic review. Nature Reviews Cardiology. 2009;6:621.
- Almirall J, et al. Association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and high arterial blood pressure in the elderly. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2010;25:503.
- Baz-Hecht M, et al. The impact of vitamin D deficiency on diabetes and cardiovascular risk. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity. 2010;17:113.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp. Accessed July 26, 2010.
- Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Institute of Medicine. http://www.iom.edu/vitamind. Accessed Nov. 30, 2010.
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