I am getting the same question in the drug store. There is some preliminary evidence that suggests that women who take calcium for 5 years may have a higher risk of heart attack. This is based on speculation by some researchers that extra calcium may end up in arteries and make atherosclerosis worse or that too much calcium may lower magnesium levels and increase cardiac risk.
The known facts are that 1 out of 50 "older" women who take calcium or calcium plus vitamin D will be spared a fracture, and it is too soon to know if calcium will increase cardiac risk. What I recommend to concerned women is to not overdue the calcium. The literature recommends 1200mg from diet and supplements combined.
Barry the Pharmacist
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