Symptoms of hypercalcemia

Hypercalcemia is now a very common disease. This disease means that the serum calcium concentration is particularly high. This disease has many manifestations, generally in the nervous system, movement, urinary system, and digestion. Patients will have symptoms of anorexia, constipation, nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. If it is not treated in time, it will pose a great threat to the patient's life safety.

Normally, most people don’t know much about hypercalcemia, and there aren’t many people around us who have this condition. Everyone should know that this is a very serious disease. If it is not treated in time, our lives will be greatly threatened. Everyone should understand the symptoms of hypercalcemia.

Clinical manifestations

Symptoms manifest in the digestive, motor, nervous, urinary and other systems. Anorexia, nausea, vomiting, constipation; fatigue, muscle fatigue, decreased muscle tone, thirst, polyuria; drowsiness, confusion, and even coma. If the disease lasts for a long time, calcium deposition may occur in tissues, such as conjunctiva, periarticular deposition and kidney stones. The clinical manifestations of hypercalcemia are related to the magnitude and rate of increase in blood calcium. According to the blood calcium level, hypercalcemia can be divided into mild: blood calcium is 2.7-3.0mmol/L; moderate: 3.0-3.4mmol/L; severe: above 3.4mmol/L.

1. Neuropsychiatric symptoms

In mild cases, there are only fatigue, listlessness, and indifference; in severe cases, there are mental and neurological symptoms such as headache, muscle weakness, weakened tendon reflexes, depression, irritability, unsteady gait, language disorders, hearing, vision and orientation disorders or loss, stupor, abnormal behavior, etc. Delirium, convulsions, and coma may occur during hypercalcemic crisis. The occurrence of neuropsychiatric symptoms is mainly due to the toxicity of high calcium to brain cells, which can interfere with the electrophysiological activities of brain cells.

2. Cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms

It can cause increased blood pressure and various heart rhythm disorders. The electrocardiogram may show shortened QT interval, ST-T changes, atrioventricular block and hypokalemic U waves. If not treated in time, it may cause fatal arrhythmia. Hypercalcemia can cause increased renal urination and electrolyte imbalance, making bronchial secretions viscous, weakening mucosal cell ciliary activity, and poor drainage of bronchial secretions, which can easily lead to lung infection, dyspnea, and even respiratory failure.

3. Digestive system symptoms

Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, and in severe cases, paralytic intestinal obstruction. Calcium can stimulate the secretion of gastrin and gastric acid, so people with hypercalcemia are prone to peptic ulcers. Calcium is ectopically deposited in the pancreatic ducts and stimulates the secretion of large amounts of pancreatic enzymes, thus causing acute pancreatitis.

4. Urinary system symptoms

Hypercalcemia can cause renal tubular damage, reduce the renal tubular concentrating function, and cause a large amount of calcium to be excreted in the urine, thereby causing polyuria, thirst, polydipsia, and even dehydration, electrolyte disorders, and acid-base imbalance. Calcium deposition in the renal parenchyma can cause interstitial nephritis, salt-losing nephropathy, and nephrocalcinosis, eventually developing into renal failure, and is also prone to urinary tract infections and stones.

5. Manifestations of ectopic calcium deposition

Hypercalcemia is prone to ectopic calcium deposition, which can deposit in the blood vessel walls, cornea, conjunctiva, tympanic membrane, around joints and cartilage, and can cause muscle atrophy, corneal disease, red eye syndrome, hearing loss and joint dysfunction, etc.

6. Hematological symptoms

Because calcium ions can activate coagulation factors, they can lead to extensive thrombosis.

7. Others

Hypercalcemic crisis occurs when blood calcium rises to above 4mmol/L, manifested by polydipsia, polyuria, severe dehydration, circulatory failure, and azotemia. If not promptly treated, the patient may die from renal failure and circulatory failure. In rare severe cases, neurological manifestations may include drowsiness, weakness, and decreased reflexes. A shortened QT interval on the electrocardiogram suggests hypercalcemia. Bradycardia and first-degree atrioventricular block have also been reported. Acute hypercalcemia may result in a significant increase in blood pressure. Gastrointestinal manifestations include atonic constipation and anorexia, and in severe cases, nausea and vomiting. Hypercalcemia of various causes may accompany acute pancreatitis.

.In cases of chronic hypercalcemia, treatment should be directed at the cause.

In addition, the calcium content in the diet should be controlled, and the following medications may be considered:

(1) Oral bisphosphonates are contraindicated in patients with renal insufficiency.

(2) Corticosteroid treatment is effective for hypercalcemia caused by malignant tumors, but long-term use has side effects.

It is very important to understand the symptoms of hypercalcemia. Many people are unable to discover the disease in time after suffering from it because they are not very familiar with the symptoms of some diseases. If everyone can be aware of this in normal times, they should be able to check in time when some discomfort symptoms appear in the body. Timely diagnosis and treatment of the disease will also be good for the health of the body.