calcium and hypertension

Nurses General Nursing

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it is recommended that people with hypertension maintain adequate potassium and calcium intake from food sources ... calcium supplements are not recommended

why not the supplements?

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Because if they have hypertension, (tachycardia, high BP) too much calcium in the heart muscles might only reinforce this problem. The Calcium channels in the heart at the SA and AV nodes "leak" which is why the heart is "autorythmic" so, if their channels are "leakier" than normal, this could be a cause of the hypertension in some cases.

I'm no expert, just something I learned in physiology last semester.

I do feel better since I found out I was accepted to the nursing program though. :idea:

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nice, that you are accepted.

but why are calcium supplements not okay, yet calcium from food sources is okay?

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Because not all of the pathways and chemical reactions are understood. Calcium, or anything else, in food is handled more "naturally" by our body while supplements are an immediate overload and wrapped in other chemicals.

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