Calcium supplements might raise heart-attack risk | Body Health ...

By?

Misti Crane

The Columbus Dispatch

Saturday May 26, 2012 7:16 AM

A study showing an 86 percent higher rate of heart attacks in people who take calcium
supplements shouldn?t prompt rash decisions to abandon the bone-strengtheners, experts say.

The research, which came out of a study designed to look at cancer, was performed by German and
Swiss researchers who analyzed nearly 24,000 people 35 to 64 years old for 11 years.

They found some good news regarding calcium and heart attacks: Those who consumed a moderately
high amount of calcium per day in their food and beverages (820 milligrams on average) had a
significantly lower risk of heart attack.

But the researchers also found something that troubled them: People who took calcium supplements
had a higher risk of a heart attack. The researchers did not collect information regarding the
dosage taken by those on supplements. The research was published this week in the journal
Heart. It was the first study of its kind to show that calcium supplements might increase
the risk of a heart attack, the authors said.

The study is provocative enough that it might lead to more research specifically designed to
look at calcium and heart attacks, but it?s not strong enough to change doctors? recommendations,
said Dr. Steven Yakubov, an interventional cardiologist at Riverside Methodist Hospital.

One weakness of the study is that the cardiovascular analysis was a sidebar to a larger study
looking at cancer, Yakubov said. Furthermore, the study didn?t adequately account for differences
between the supplement and no-supplement groups, including whether they smoked, Yakubov said.

Calcium?s bone-health benefits are undisputed and are important to remember, considering the
burden of osteoporosis in the United States, said Dr. Keith Hruska, president of the American
Society for Bone and Mineral Research and a kidney specialist at Washington University in St.
Louis.

Most Americans don?t get nearly as much calcium as the 1,000 milligrams a day recommended by the
Institute of Medicine (1,200 for those older than 70), Hruska said.

?A lot of Americans are taking calcium supplements; what I would say is they shouldn?t stop,?
Hruska said. ?It?s hard to understand why calcium in the diet can reduce the risk, but supplements
increase the risk.?

The study?s authors mention previous research that showed that supplements lead to a spike in
the calcium level in the blood, which doesn?t happen with dietary calcium. But they draw no direct
conclusions about what led to the difference.

The study is important in that ?it opens our eyes, and maybe we should scrutinize the importance
of taking supplements,? said Dr. Laxmi Mehta, clinical director of the Women?s Cardiovascular
Health Clinic at Ohio State University?s Wexner Medical Center.

Many times, people take vitamins and minerals without considering that there might be negative
affects as well as positive, Mehta said.

But she said she?s not inclined to tell her patients to scrap their calcium supplements based on
this study. Instead, she said it serves as a good reminder to discuss diet with each patient and
tailor recommendations to needs.

Mehta said she?s always suggesting to patients that they should try to get their nutrients
through their diets and to improve their health without taking medications or supplements whenever
possible.

mcrane@dispatch.com

@MistiCrane

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