What happens if calcium levels are not maintained

For instance, calcium helps blood to clot and supports nerve function, as well as muscle contractions, releasing hormones, and maintaining a normal heartbeat. The parathyroid glands are small nodules located near the thyroid that produce parathyroid hormone, or PTH. In turn, this can cause a range of persistent physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms. A rare disease called Hypoparathyroidism is characterized by low or absent endogenous PTH with low levels of calcium in the blood.

How is Hypoparathyroidism diagnosed? In some cases, genetic testing can be used to confirm a diagnosis. Without adequate calcium, blood has difficulty coagulating, the heart may skip beats or stop beating altogether, muscles may have difficulty contracting, nerves may have difficulty functioning, and bones may become brittle.

The causes of hypocalcemia can range from hormonal imbalances to an improper diet. Treatments vary according to the cause, but prognoses are generally good. Conversely, in hypercalcemia , a condition characterized by abnormally high levels of calcium, the nervous system is underactive, which results in lethargy, sluggish reflexes, constipation and loss of appetite, confusion, and in severe cases, coma.

Obviously, calcium homeostasis is critical. The skeletal, endocrine, and digestive systems play a role in this, but the kidneys do, too. These body systems work together to maintain a normal calcium level in the blood Figure 6.

Calcium is a chemical element that cannot be produced by any biological processes. The only way it can enter the body is through the diet. The bones act as a storage site for calcium: The body deposits calcium in the bones when blood levels get too high, and it releases calcium when blood levels drop too low.

If a person has lost bone mass or developed kidney stones due to excess blood calcium, those conditions can be treated. In most cases, osteoporosis caused by hypercalcemia is reversible after surgical cure of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Mild hypercalcemia is sometimes simply observed and the blood calcium is monitored. Surgery is needed if hypercalcemia caused by hyperparathyroidism becomes severe or cannot be controlled. Typically, only one of the glands is overproducing parathyroid hormone, and a doctor may recommend surgery to remove the affected gland. Prior to surgery, doctors can use a parathyroid scan to identify which gland is involved. After the gland is removed, the remaining parathyroid glands compensate for the missing one, and blood calcium returns to normal.

Talk to your doctor about the steps you should take next to address your abnormal blood calcium test result. In most cases, the cause of mild hypercalcemia can be readily identified and effectively treated. By Shawn Bishop. It is important to recognize the mechanisms of homeostasis in the body, as well as the consequences of homeostasis dysfunction.

In the following examples, you will learn to identify homeostasis at different levels of organization, such as how the body maintains tight control over small molecules, and the importance of maintaining cell number. Body functions such as regulation of the heartbeat, contraction of muscles, activation of enzymes, and cellular communication require tightly regulated calcium levels.

Normally, we get a lot of calcium from our diet. The small intestine absorbs calcium from digested food. The endocrine system is the control center for regulating blood calcium homeostasis. The parathyroid and thyroid glands contain receptors that respond to levels of calcium in the blood.

In this feedback system, blood calcium level is the variable, because it changes in response to the environment. Changes in blood calcium level have the following effects:. Calcium imbalance in the blood can lead to disease or even death. Hypocalcemia refers to low blood calcium levels. Signs of hypocalcemia include muscle spasms and heart malfunctions.