What Causes Calcium Deposits in the Heart?
Calcium is the most common mineral in the human body. Most of it is stored in bones and some is stored in the blood, assisting with bodily functions such as blood clotting, muscle contraction and communication between nerve cells. But when calcium builds up in the coronary arteries or around heart valves, it can cause problems. Cardiac calcium scans, special imaging tests that measure the amount of calcium buildup in the coronary arteries (the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart muscle), are being used to predict cardiac events such as heart attacks, according to research published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Radiology (see Reference 2 below). There are some ways to help prevent calcium buildup in the heart, and understanding the causes is the first step.
