Calcium and Heart Attacks

Calcium supplements may be linked to increased risk of heart attack.
The CBS Evening News (7/29, story 9, 1:40, Couric) reported, "Calcium supplements are a good way to keep your bones strong, but" research published in the online in the BMJ suggests that "they could lead to an increased risk for heart attack."
The Los Angeles Times (7/29, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported that investigators "combined results from 11 randomized controlled trials of calcium supplements...involving more than 12,000 patients." The researchers "found a 31% increase in the risk of heart attack and smaller, non-significant increases in the risk of stroke and death." Although "equal numbers of women received calcium or placebo, 143 of those who received calcium suffered a heart attack, compared to 111 who received a placebo."
Bloomberg News (7/30, Craig) reports that "the researchers said they excluded from their analysis studies that compared coadministered calcium and vitamin D supplements with placebo. The findings may not be applicable to those supplements, the authors wrote."
HealthDay (7/29, Reinberg) reported that "earlier studies did not find a similar risk when people get calcium through eating foods rich in the mineral, which suggests that supplements may be an independent risk factor."
CNN /Health.com (7/30, Gardner) reports that these "findings...have some experts questioning whether calcium supplements should be used as widely as they are now, especially by elderly women, who suffer disproportionately from both heart disease and osteoporosis."