Older women who take calcium supplements to maintain bone strength may have an increased risk of heart attack, researchers led by Ian Reid of the University of Auckland wrote in the British Medical Journal.
The study involved 1,471 healthy post-menopausal women, average age 74, who already had participated in a study on the effects of calcium on bone density and fracture rates. Of them, 732 were given a daily calcium supplement and 739 were given a placebo. They were followed for five years.
Heart attacks were more common in the women taking the calcium supplements, with 31 women who took supplements experiencing a heart attack compared to 21 women who got a placebo, the researchers said.
They said that because calcium supplements raise blood calcium levels, this possibly accelerates the formation of deposits in the arteries that could lead to heart attack.
Bonnie - it is about time that we see this in a medical journal! As I have said incessantly, calcium, when supplemented improperly (such as a poorly absorbed source like carbonate, or not taken in conjunction with magnesium and vitamin D), creates calcification. Where do calcium deposits go? Into our brain kidneys, heart, etc.
Women especially ingest way too much calcium and choose poorly absorbed sources. In the near future, the mainstream will finally discover that the key to healthy bones later in life is a combination of lifestyle choices (exercise), low inflammation (anti-inflammatory diet), and the proper ratio of supplemental calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium.
3 comments:
This is the first I've seen of a warning for taking too much calcium but it makes sense when you consider the seriousness of the effects of too much calcium in the blood. What amount of calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium are considered to be reasonable for a post-menopausal women in her early 50's?
Hi Anna.
The dosages need to tailored to your individual needs, including total calcium intake from food and supplements, the source of the supplements, etc. I always hesitate to throw out arbitrary numbers for a large group of people because.
Bonnie
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
Still, there are many misconceptions about heart disease: "The biggest misconception is that heart disease only happens to the elderly," said Elizabeth Schilling, CRNP with the Center for Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
So, it is now a wise decision to keep a constant monitoring of your health. Why to take a chance if we have the option. I was in the similar misconception that heart disease are far away waiting for me to get aged. But to my surprise, I was found to be having a calcium deposit in my coronary arteries. I need to have my advance diagnostic scans due reassure whether something really deadly is waiting for me. Though it was some dreadful going on in my life, but I never felt any kind of discomfort in Elitehealth.com advanced diagnostic facility. They were having some of the latest diagnostic equipments and non invasive techniques which made me feel safe.
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