Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attacks, Strokes

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New research has linked calcium supplements to an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes. The risk of taking calcium supplements to prevent bone fractures now appears to outweigh the benefits. Researchers have warned that indiscriminate use of calcium ‘should be abandoned.‘

Free Calcium Supplement Case Evaluation: If you or a loved one has experienced a heart attack, stroke or other adverse event you believe may have been caused by calcium supplements, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit and we can help.

What’s the problem?

April 20, 2011 – A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has found that taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of heart attacks by 25% and the risk of stroke by 15%. The research seems to support an earlier meta-analysis that suggested that the risk presented by calcium supplements may outweigh the benefits.

According to professor Ian Reid, senior author of the study, the new data provides a large body of evidence suggesting that the indiscriminate use of calcium supplements should be abandoned.

“When we do the calculations from these 29,000 people, we find that for every thousand people we give calcium to for five years, we cause six heart attacks and we prevent three fractures,” Reid said. “The message from last years study, to this years study is very consistent, and that is that it’s not a very effective way of preventing fractures, and it probably does carry a significant risk.”

Reid’s research team is now trying to understand exactly why calcium supplements may be dangerous whereas consuming calcium rich food is not. Finding the mechanisms behind the potential increased risk opens up the possibility of designing calcium supplements that are safer to use. Reid warned that supplement manufacturers should pay attention to the risks involved with their products: “The forms of supplements we are using at the minute are measurably not safe, and I think that if industry ignores that fact, or refuses to engage, it may be opening itself up to liability in the future,” he warned.

Do I have a Calcium Supplement Lawsuit?

The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in calcium supplement lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new heart attack and stroke cases in all 50 states.