Cardiology

Biography

Biography: L. Ray Matthews

Abstract

Often overlooked, are the roles that chronic inflammation/oxidative stress play in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarctions. We hypothesized that vitamin D (a secosteroid hormone with anti-inflammatory capabilities) would reduce the incidence, length of stay, and hospital costs in surgical intensive care unit patients. We performed a prospective study of 565 patients divided into two groups admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital between August 2009 and August 2012. Group 1 was treated with vitamin D 50,000 international units weekly. Group 2 was treated with vitamin D 50,000 international units daily. Primary outcomes were incidence of myocardial infarctions, length of stay, and cost. There were not any statistical differences between the two groups in terms of demographics: age, gender, race, serum albumin, CD4 count, or baseline vitamin D levels. The number/incidence of myocardial infarctions in Group 1 was 22 (7.8%) and 11 (3.9%) in Group 2 (p value 0.047). The length of stay for the 22 patients in Group 1 who had a myocardial infarctions was 36.1 days and 8.2 days for the 11 patients in Group 2 (p value 0.007). The intensive care unit cost for the 22 patients in Group 1 who had a myocardial infarction was $138,991 and $31,549 for the 11 patients in Group 2 (p 0.0005). Our study demonstrates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased incidence of myocardial infarctions, cost, and length of stay. Further studies are needed to fully assess the impact of vitamin D on cardiovascular health.