While consumption of calcium through the food lowers the risk of heart disease, taking calcium supplements regularly have a harmful impact on the heart, according to a new study.

Dr. Erin Michos, the associate director of preventive cardiology of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explained that those who take calcium supplements may be at a higher risk of heart disease because these supplements increase buildups of plaque in their arteries.

Sharing the shocking finding, Dr. Michos said, “When it comes to calcium supplements being taken for bone health, many Americans think that more is always better. But our study adds to the body of evidence that excess calcium in the form of supplements may harm the heart and vascular system.”

The health experts reached the conclusion after studying nearly 1,500 people, who were divided people into five groups based on their calcium intake from in the form of diets and supplements.

The 10-year study revealed that those who took calcium supplements were overall 22 per cent more likely to develop plaques in the arteries over the study period.

In contract, participants in the highest-intake group who received their high calcium without supplements were at a particularly low risk of developing plaques. They were 27 per cent less likely to develop plaques in their arteries.