Calcium
Understanding Calcium
What is Calcium?
Calcium is a mineral in the body responsible for many vital functions like maintaining bone strength, muscles, nerve function, and blood clotting. Abnormal calcium levels can lead to several complications in the body, like kidney disease, bone disease, and multiple organ tumors.
An ongoing or past history of certain tumors, lung disease or side effects of medications can make a person more vulnerable to suffer from abnormal calcium levels.
What is Calcium used for?
- As a part of regular metabolic panel health checkups
- Upon the appearance of symptoms indicating excess or shortfall of calcium
- To check for diseases causing abnormalities in calcium level in blood like thyroid or parathyroid disorders, heart diseases, kidney diseases, neurological diseases, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and bone and teeth diseases
- At regular intervals to monitor treatment efficacy of calcium supplements or Vitamin D supplements
- To monitor critically ill patients
- To monitor the progress of the condition and the efficacy of treatment after the kidney transplant, and in certain types of cancer
- To monitor calcium levels during and after large-volume blood transfusions
What does Calcium measure?
Calcium (Ca) Test measures the levels of calcium in blood. Calcium is essential for body processes including cell signaling, blood clotting, contraction of muscles, and functioning of nerves. It plays a crucial role in the formation and maintenance of healthy bones. Deficiency of calcium results in Osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones lose their density and become soft and fragile, causing them to fracture very easily.
About 99% of the total amount of calcium received by the body is bound as calcium complex in bones, and the remaining 1% lies in blood circulation. Of the amount of calcium circulating in the blood, about half remains bound to albumin protein or other ions and are metabolically inactive, while the remaining half remains free and metabolically active. Blood Calcium tests can be of two types: Total Calcium Test used to measure the total calcium concentration in blood including both the free and bound forms, and Ionized Calcium Test used to measure the concentration of only the metabolically active form.
Calcium levels in the blood are maintained within a very narrow range by a number of mechanisms. Deviation from the normal range of calcium concentration causes Hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium), or Hypercalcemia (excess of calcium). Both these conditions impact normal body processes in the short term and may give rise to other conditions in the long term.
A blood calcium test cannot be used to check for a lack of calcium in your diet or for osteoporosis (loss of calcium from bones) as the body can have normal calcium levels even in case of dietary deficiency of Calcium. The body can augment mild calcium deficiency by releasing the calcium stored in bones.
Interpreting Calcium results
Interpretations
Normal range: 8.5 to 10.5 mg/dL (2.2 to 2.7 mmol/L approx.)
Hypocalcemia: Below 8.5 mg/dL (Below 2.2 mmol/L approx.)
Hypercalcemia: Above 10.5 mg/dL (Above 2.7 mmol/L approx.)
Calcium concentration in the body is maintained within a narrow normal range between 8.5mg/dL and 10.5mg/dL.
Hypocalcemia or low blood calcium is indicated if calcium concentration lies below the normal range.
Hypercalcemia or high blood calcium is indicated if calcium concentration lies above the normal range.
Answers to Patient Concerns & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Calcium
Frequently Asked Questions about Calcium
Q. Is there any risk associated with this test?
Q. What is Hypocalcemia?
Q. What are the symptoms of Hypocalcemia?
Q. What is Hypercalcemia?
Q. What are the symptoms of Hypercalcemia?
Q. Is there any preparation required before the Calcium test?
Q. When can false results appear in the Calcium Test?
Q. What other tests can be prescribed by your doctor in case Calcium test result is not normal?
Q. Which food items are good source of calcium?
Q. What is Osteoporosis and how is it related to calcium deficiency?
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