BALTIMORE — Calcium supplements that many women take to boost bone health increase their risk for heart disease, a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and other institutions has found.

The results show calcium supplements make people more prone to plaque buildup in arteries, which contributes to the risk of a heart attack.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, is the latest salvo in a nearly decade-long debate about whether the supplements do more harm than good.

The researchers said their findings give patients reason to use caution when taking the supplements. It is better for people to get calcium from food such as dairy products, leafy green vegetables, and fortified cereal and juices, they said.

When calcium plaque builds up in the arteries, it inhibits blood flow, increasing heart attack risk.

About 43 percent of men and women take a supplement that includes calcium, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“We think the body metabolizes supplements and dietary calcium differently,” said Dr. Erin Michos, associate director of preventive cardiology and associate professor of medicine at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “If you are worried about your bones, then get your calcium through food.”

Michos said the study adds to growing evidence that calcium supplements are bad for the heart. But the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents manufacturers of dietary supplements, said just as many studies show the opposite.

The group pointed to evidence in the study that people who get a high dose of calcium from a mix of foods and dietary supplements had the lowest risk of calcification in the coronary artery.

The study was prompted in large part because the scientists wanted to build on previous research by others that found calcium supplements never actually make it to a patient’s bones and instead accumulate in soft tissue and muscles, such as the heart.

The researchers looked at data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The study collected medical information from more than 6,000 patients over time to look at the risk factors and characteristics of cardiovascular disease.