Vitamin C is popularly known for boosting the immune system as well as helping people heal from wounds and keeping the gums healthy. But the vitamin might be good for the heart as well.

According to a study done by Eun Kyeoung Song, assistant professor at the Department of Nursing, College of Medicine in the University of Ulsan in Korea and lead author, adequate vitamin C intake is linked with longer survival rates of patients with heart failure.

Based on Song's findings, those who had a low vitamin C intake from food were 2.4 times more likely to have higher levels of hsCRP, a marker for inflammation and a risk factor for heart disease.

Findings also suggest that a low vitamin C intake and an hsCRP over 3 milligrams per liter were also nearly twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular disease within one year of follow-up.

These results were taken from observation of 212 patients with an average age of 61, with one-third of which were women. More than 45 percent of the participants had moderate to severe heart failure. Following the patients for one year, 39 percent of the patients had inadequate vitamin C intake, and after a year of follow-up, 29 percent had cardiac events that either led to hospitalization or cardiac death.

With the study being done, Terry Lennie, study author and associate dean of Ph.D. studies in the College of Nursing at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, noted that diet is the best source of vitamin C, and that eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day provides an adequate amount.

Because heart failure is such a serious disease with the risk of ending a person's life, there are some things that people can do to help prevent the condition from worsening, reported the Mayo Clinic.

Some the steps that can be taken are:

1. Stop smoking - smoking damages blood vessels which in turn reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood

2. Limit salt -salt contributes to water retention and this can lead to the heart working harder

3. Limit fats and cholesterol - a diet high in fat and cholesterol increases the risk for coronary artery disease

4. Exercise - exercise helps the body become healthy and reduces the demands on the heart

5. Avoid stress - stress makes the heart beat faster, which can make a person breathe more heavily