Special section: Cardiovascular connections: Skeleton key
Special section: Cardiovascular connections
Skeleton key
As we get older, calcium tends to leak out of bones. At the same time, calcium begins to appear in artery walls and heart valves. This transfer is harmful all around. Loss of calcium weakens bones and makes them more likely to break, a condition known as osteoporosis. The addition of calcium to arteries and heart valves makes them stiffer, which creates more work for the heart.
Women with osteoporosis are six times more likely to have cholesterol-narrowed arteries than women without the bone-thinning disease. Men who lose more than one inch of height as they age — a common result of osteoporosis — are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than men who don't shrink. It works in the other direction, too. Older people with peripheral artery disease (atherosclerosis in arteries in the arms, legs, and abdomen) are 50% more likely to break a bone than those with healthy arteries.
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