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Greater heart risk from calcium pills

LONDON:

A recent study has revealed that the calcium pill taken to reduce the risk of

getting osteoporosis could increase your chance of getting a heart attack, so be

on guard when next time you pop those calcium tablets.

According to the studies lead

by author Dr Ian Reid of University of Auckland in New Zealand, “There are data

from other studies showing an upward trend in heart attacks with calcium use, so

we think this is likely to be a real finding.

Researchers have found that

post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements to combat bone-wasting

conditions are almost 50 per cent more likely to have a heart attack and

subsequently a stroke.

“It is

likely that this is primarily a problem for elderly women, because they are more

likely than younger subjects to have prevalent coronary heart disease.

Therefore, it seems wise to advise against calcium supplementation in those over

the age of 70 years and in those known to have coronary heart disease,” the

studies revealed.

After

examining incidents of cardiovascular disease among women in New Zealand taking

1,000 mg calcium supplements every day, the researchers reached this conclusion.

In order to get the derived

conclusion, the researchers used data from a previous study on bone fractures in

which half of almost 1,500 healthy post-menopausal women aged 55 years or above

were given daily calcium supplements, while the rest received placebos.

The researchers found that

women in the supplement group were 49 per cent more likely to have a heart

attack and 37 per cent more likely to have a stroke compared to those on

placebos — the results of the study have been published in the ‘British Medical

Journal’.

“The increased risk

of vascular disease seemed to outweigh the benefits of the supplements,” the

media quoted Prof Reid as saying.

Tags: day, heart