Hypercalcemia: Understanding High Calcium Levels - Symptoms & Causes

According to the Mayo Clinic, the scientific term used to describe high levels of calcium in the blood is hypercalcemia. Calcium plays an important role in the formation of bones, but high levels of calcium in the blood can cause problems with muscles, hormones and the nervous system.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of hypercalcemia include nausea, vomiting, extreme thirst, frequent urination, constipation, abdominal pain, muscle weakness, muscle aches, confusion, lethargy and fatigue.

Causes

• Causes of hypercalcemia include parathyroid gland overactivity, cancer, other diseases such as granulomas, medication, supplements and dehydration.

Complications

• High levels of calcium in the blood can cause osteoporosis, kidney stones, kidney failure, arrhythmia and nervous system problems.

Diagnosis

• Your doctor can test for the cause of your hypercalcemia with procedures such as a chest X-ray, computerized tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging scan and mammogram.

Treatment

• Hypercalcemia can be treated with intravenous fluids for rehydration, loop diuretic medications, intravenous biophosphates, calcitonin, glucocorticoids and hemodialysis.