Calcium Supplements May Hurt Heart

About 43 percent of Americans take a supplement that includes calcium, thought to be a builder of strong bones. But now come researchers from Johns Hopkins University with a concern that calcium in the form of supplements may raise the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and heart damage, even though a diet high in calcium-rich foods appears be protective. Strange but true. A Johns Hopkins news release reports that the researchers were motivated to look at the effects of calcium on the heart and vascular system because studies already showed that ingested calcium supplements — particularly in older people — don’t make it to the skeleton or get completely excreted in the urine. If that’s true, the researchers reasoned, they must be accumulating in the body’s soft tissues. When the investigators looked at detailed information from 2,742 people who completed dietary questionnaires and two CT scans spanning 10 years apart, they found that supplement users showed a 22 percent increased likelihood of having their coronary artery calcium scores rise higher than zero over the decade, indicating development of heart disease.