DOES TOO MUCH CALCIUM CAUSE HEART DISEASE? The good news is that there is no high-level evidence that typical doses of calcium supplements put your heart at risk.
Many had concerns after a single report about calcium and cardiovascular disease showed that calcium supplements raised the risk of a heart attack or myocardial infarction.
Today we look at this meta-analysis — a research gold standard — of calcium supplements before looking at the overall picture.
The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, and the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.
Does calcium cause harm?
Let’s look at the meta-analysis of the effect of calcium supplements on the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiovascular events. This study caused an uproar about the perils of calcium supplementation.
The clinical trials evaluated all had information on the volunteers’ cardiovascular health. In the British Medical Journal study, more subjects taking calcium had heart attacks, stroke, or sudden death (compared with those taking a placebo).
While a 30 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease with calcium supplements sounds utterly frightening, relative statistics can be misleading. I prefer to always discuss absolute risk changes with my patients.
So what did that 30 percent increase in risk mean? Those taking calcium had a 5.8 percent chance of suffering from a cardiovascular event, compared with 5.5 percent of those taking a placebo. To me, that is a vanishingly small increase in risk.
This study adds one more data point to the calcium question but is not practice-changing. Other studies show no connection between taking calcium supplements and cardiovascular disease.
For example, one study found people who had high calcium intake had less coronary artery calcification. Please note that this appeared mostly true for those getting calcium from their meals, not pills. Moreover, there appeared to signal that supplements might increase calcium deposits in heart arteries.
My take — Calcium and heart health
Should you avoid getting extra calcium? While the results are unclear, one thing seems apparent: It is better to get calcium from your diet than to take it by pill. If you are looking for sources in food and drink, I recently wrote a more comprehensive article about calcium:
https://medium.com/beingwell/calcium-and-your-heart-e0e25c43967f?sk=03bd5fca7f2375be675613c94ca959d3
Thank you for joining me in the brief look at calcium and your heart. I hope you have a joy-filled day.
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
