Vitamin D, a crucial hormone in the homeostasis and metabolism of calcium bone, has lately been found to produce effects on other physiological and pathological processes genomically and non-genomically, including the cardiovascular system. While lower baseline vitamin D levels have been correlated with atherogenic blood lipid profiles, 25(OH)D supplementation influences the levels of serum lipids in that it lowers the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol and increases the levels of HDL-cholesterol, all of which are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D is also involved in the development of atherosclerosis at the site of the blood vessels. Deficiency of this vitamin has been found to increase adhesion molecules or endothelial activation and, at the same time, supplementation is linked to the lowering presence of adhesion surrogates. Vitamin D can also influence the vascular tone by increasing endothelial nitric oxide production, as seen in supplementation studies. Deficiency can lead, at the same time, to oxidative stress and an increase in inflammation as well as the expression of particular immune cells that play a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerosis in the intima of the blood vessels, i.e., monocytes and macrophages. Vitamin D is also involved in atherogenesis through inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency is consistently associated with cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction, STEMI, NSTEMI, unstable angina, ischemic stroke, cardiovascular death, and increased mortality after acute stroke. Conversely, vitamin D supplementation does not seem to produce beneficial effects in cohorts with intermediate baseline vitamin D levels.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a rare disease in which the right ventricular myocardium is replaced by islands of fibro-adipose tissue. Therefore, ventricular re-entry circuits can occur, predisposing the patient to ventricular tachyarrhythmias, as well as dilation of the right ventricle that eventually leads to heart failure. Although it is a rare disease with low prevalence in Europe and the United States, many patients are addressed disproportionately for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The most severe consequence of this condition is sudden cardiac death at a young age due to untreated cardiac arrhythmias. The purpose of this paper is to revise the magnetic resonance characteristics of ARVC, including the segmental contraction abnormalities, fatty tissue replacement, decrease of the ejection fraction, and the global RV dilation. Herein, we also present several recent improvements of the 2010 Task Force criteria that are not included within the ARVC diagnosis guidelines. In our opinion, these features will be considered in a future Task Force Consensus.