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Medical Author:

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C) is an Attending Physician with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and Associate Director of Clinical Research, Recruitment and Phenotyping with the Center for Androgen Related Disorders, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD, is a U.S. board-certified Pediatric Endocrinologist. After taking his baccalaureate degree from Yale College, receiving his doctoral degree and residency training in pediatrics at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), he completed fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Signs and symptoms of hypercalcemia in most patients are minimal; however, as the level of calcium increases, the symptoms will be more pronounced. Acute (rapid) increases in calcium levels will cause more severe symptoms. For example, with dramatically elevated calcium, abnormal electrical impulses in the heart and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) can occur. In fact, there is a specific pattern on electrocardiogram (EKG) associated with high levels of calcium.

Because of the clinical findings seen in hypercalcemia, the symptoms are often described as "moans, stones, groans, and bones."

Some of the symptoms of hypercalcemia include the following:

Moans (gastrointestinal conditions)

• abdominal pain
  
  
• constipation
  
  
• decreased appetite
  
  
• nausea
  
  
• peptic ulcer disease
  
  
• vomiting

Stones (kidney-related conditions)

• flank pain
  
  
• frequent urination
  
  
• kidney stones

Groans (psychological conditions)

• confusion
  
  
• dementia
  
  
• depression
  
  
• memory loss

Bones (bone pain and bone-related conditions)

• bone aches and pains
  
  
• curving of the spine and loss of height
  
  
• fractures

Extreme elevations in calcium levels may cause coma.

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