Francesco Lo Monaco: When Calcium Goes to the Wrong Place – Vitamin K and the Mechanisms of Vascular Calcification
Francesco Lo Monaco, Cardiologist and Founder of The National Heart Clinic, posted on LinkedIn:
“Most people think heart disease starts with cholesterol.
In reality, one of the earliest problems is something else: arterial calcification.
Calcium is essential.
But calcium without direction becomes a problem.
When it’s not guided into bone, it often ends up in the artery wall – making vessels stiffer, older, and more fragile.
This is where vitamin K matters.
Vitamin K activates Matrix Gla Protein (MGP), a key protector of our arteries.
Its role:
- keep calcium out of arteries
- prevent vessels from becoming “bone-like”
- preserve arterial flexibility
Without enough vitamin K, this system fails silently.
The calcium doesn’t disappear.
It just goes to the wrong place.
Where do we get vitamin K from?
Vitamin K1 (mainly for clotting):
- leafy greens (spinach, kale, broccoli)
- herbs like parsley
Vitamin K2 (crucial for arteries and bones):
- fermented foods (especially natto)
- aged cheeses
- egg yolks
- liver
- grass-fed dairy
K1 can be converted into K2 – but this process is limited, highly individual, and declines with age.
Which means you can eat ‘well’ and still develop arterial calcification over time.
Today, we can even detect vitamin K deficiency inside the vessels using specific blood markers – long before symptoms or events.
Prevention isn’t about chasing supplements.
It’s about understanding biology.
Sometimes longevity starts with asking better questions.”
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