Knowra Hypocalcemia Hypocalcemia Hypocalcemia is an abnormally low concentration of calcium in the blood. It can disrupt nerve, muscle, and cardiac function, with effects shaped by how quickly and severely calcium falls.
Calcium homeostasis : The regulation of calcium concentrations in blood and tissues through coordinated hormonal, renal, intestinal, and skeletal processes. Its control systems determine how blood calcium falls and whether it can be restored.
Calcium : A chemical element and essential mineral involved in bone structure, cell signaling, muscle contraction, and blood clotting. Blood calcium is one small, tightly regulated part of the body's calcium stores.
Electrocardiography : The recording and interpretation of the heart's electrical activity using electrodes on the body. An ECG can reveal QT prolongation and other cardiac effects of severe hypocalcemia.
Hypercalcemia : An abnormally high concentration of calcium in the blood. It is the opposite biochemical abnormality, with a different pattern of neuromuscular effects.
Parathyroid hormone : A hormone released by the parathyroid glands that raises blood calcium and lowers blood phosphate. Insufficient secretion is a major cause of hypocalcemia.
Albumin : The most abundant protein in blood plasma, produced by the liver and responsible for transport and fluid balance. Much circulating calcium binds to albumin, affecting total calcium measurements.
Hypoparathyroidism : A disorder in which the parathyroid glands produce too little parathyroid hormone. It is a key cause investigated when hypocalcemia accompanies elevated blood phosphate.
Hypomagnesemia : An abnormally low concentration of magnesium in the blood. It can resemble or cause hypocalcemia, so the two abnormalities must be distinguished and treated together when present.
Vitamin D : A group of fat-soluble secosteroids that regulate calcium and phosphate absorption and metabolism. Deficiency can reduce intestinal calcium absorption enough to lower blood calcium.
Corrected calcium : An estimated blood calcium value adjusted for an abnormal albumin concentration. It helps interpret total calcium when albumin is low, though direct ionized measurement may be preferable.
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