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AHA Science Advisory: Lyon Diet Heart Study. Benefits of a Mediterranean-style, National Cholesterol Education Program/American Heart Association Step I Dietary Pattern on Cardiovascular Disease.\nKris-Etherton P, Eckel RH, Howard BV, St Jeor S, Bazzarre TL; Nutrition Committee Population Science Committee and Clinical Science Committee of the American Heart Association.\nCirculation. 2001 Apr 3;103(13):1823-5. \nPMID: 11282918

A comparison of egg consumption with other modifiable coronary heart disease lifestyle risk factors: a relative risk apportionment study. Barraj L, Tran N, Mink P. Risk Anal. 2009 Mar;29(3):401-15. Epub 2008 Nov 4. PMID: 19000074 DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01149.x Guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) recommend that healthy adults limit their intake of dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day. Since a large egg contains about 71% of that amount, the AHA recommends restricting egg consumption unless dietary cholesterol intakes from other sources are limited. We applied a risk apportionment approach to estimate the contribution of egg consumption and other modifiable lifestyle risk factors (e.g., smoking, poor diet, minimal exercise, and alcohol intake) to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk at the population level. Specifically, we categorized the U.S. adult population ages 25+ into distinct risk groups based on the prevalence of modifiable lifestyle risk factors and applied an apportionment model, typically used to assess risk contribution at the individual level, to estimate the contribution of egg intake to CHD risk. Our analysis shows that the combination of modifiable lifestyle risk factors accounts for less than 40% of the population CHD mortality. For the majority of U.S. adults age 25+, consuming one egg a day accounts for <1% of CHD risk. Hence, focusing on decreasing egg intake as an approach to modify CHD risk would be expected to yield minimal results relative to changing other behaviors such as smoking and other dietary habits.

"Study Shows Vitamin D Supplements May Be Useful in Preventing Heart Disease Nov. 16, 2009 (Orlando, Fla.) -- Some men with low levels of vitamin D in their blood are at particularly high risk of developing heart disease and weakened bones that can lead to osteoporosis, researchers report. In a study of more than 1,000 men, those with low levels of both vitamin D and the sex hormone estrogen were at significantly increased risk of having cardiovascular disease, says study head Erin Michos, MD, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins. "They were also at dramatically increased risk of osteopenia," or bone loss that can lead to osteoporosis, she says. "Our results suggest that vitamin D supplements, which are already prescribed to treat osteoporosis, may also be useful in preventing heart disease," Michos tells WebMD. Men with low levels of vitamin D and testosterone, on the other hand, were not at heightened risk for heart disease or osteopenia."

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 10 -- Gram for gram, trans fatty acid from milk and meat may be as bad for the heart as it is from processed foods, Dutch researchers found. In a randomized trial, a diet containing a high quantity of trans fats significantly increased cholesterol levels across the board whether from natural or "industrial" sources (P=0.014 to P<0.001), Ingeborg A. Brouwer, Ph.D., of VU University Amsterdam, and colleagues reported here at the American Heart Association meeting.

"A new study suggests many Americans aren't getting anywhere nearly enough of the vitamin, and it may be affecting their heart health. In the study, researchers looked at tens of thousands of healthy adults 50 and older whose vitamin D levels had been measured during routine checkups. A majority, they found, were deficient in the vitamin. About two-thirds had less vitamin D in their bloodstreams than the authors considered healthy, and many were extremely deficient. Less than two years later, the researchers found, those who had extremely low levels of the vitamin were almost twice as likely to have died or suffered a stroke than those with adequate amounts. They also had more coronary artery disease and were twice as likely to have developed heart failure. The findings, which are being presented today at an American Heart Association conference in Orlando, don't prove that lack of vitamin D causes heart disease; they only suggest a link between the two. "

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. In a national study in 1010 men, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, researchers say the new findings build on previous studies showing that deficiencies in vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, found naturally in differing amounts in men and women, were independent risk factors for hardened and narrowed arteries and weakened bones. Vitamin D is an essential part to keeping the body healthy, and can be obtained from fortified foods, such as milk and cereals, and by exposure to sunlight.

It's time to meet the Fats - some are bad and some are better. According to a consumer survey conducted for the American Heart Association, fewer than half of Americans know that the "better" fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can help reduce their risk of heart disease.

"* Low levels of vitamin D were associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers. * The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican-Americans. PALM HARBOR, Fla., March 11, 2009 - Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention."