Calcium supplements and heart risk
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Calcium supplements may detrimentally effect otherwise healthy postmenopausal women by increasing their chance of suffering an adverse cardiovascular event, including sudden death, a heart attack, angina, chest pain, stroke or transient ischemic attack, according to a study published in the January British Medical Journal. While the study does not "unequivocally show an adverse cardiovascular effect of calcium," the results cause concern because even a small adverse effect on vascular event rates would counterbalance the beneficial effects of calcium supplements on bone loss, say Mark Bolland, et al., Department of Medicine at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The calcium supplements may increase cardiovascular problems because they increase serum calcium levels which could accelerate vascular calcification - a precursor of vascular event rates, the researchers say...