Postmenopausal Calcium Supplementation Does Not Increase Vascular Calcification Risk.

Researchers for the Women’s Health Initiative evaluated the risk of coronary and cerebrovascular events in postmenopausal women due to vascular or valvular calcification. Researchers questioned whether cardiovascular disease may be an undesirable secondary effect of calcium supplementation in postmenopausal women. The study appeared in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association (115:846-854, 2007).

Researchers randomized 36,282 postmenopausal women 50 to 79 years of age at 40 clinical sites into two groups. The test group received calcium carbonate 500 mg with vitamin D 200 IU twice daily; the second group received a placebo. During 7 years of follow-up, myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease death was confirmed for 499 women assigned to the calcium/vitamin D group and 475 women assigned to the placebo group. Stroke was confirmed among 362 women assigned to the calcium/vitamin D group and 377 assigned to the placebo group.

At baseline, women with higher total calcium were not at higher risk for coronary events or stroke if assigned to the calcium/D group. Results indicated that calcium/vitamin D supplementation neither increased nor decreased cardiovascular risk in generally healthy postmenopausal women over a 7 year period.

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