High Calcium And The Heart

Calcium is a beneficial and essential mineral, but too much calcium can have negative effects on your heart. High calcium, or hypercalcemia, is a condition marked by excessive levels of calcium inside your bloodstream. Conditions ranging from thyroid problems to taking too much vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia can lead to certain heart arrhythmias that can cause fatigue and chest pain, according to the the website ShortQTSyndrome.org.

Calcium and the Heart

Your heart cells are muscles, but they act differently than your skeletal muscles. Normally in a muscle cell, the brain sends a signal through the nervous system to tell your muscle cell to contract; this causes movement. Cardiac cells do not need to be told to contract as they do it spontaneously. Cardiac cells contract when the ion molecules, sodium and calcium stored in the fluid around the cells move into the cell. A special group of cardiac cells known as the sinoatrial node, experiences this rush of positively charged sodium and calcium ions. When sodium and calcium move into the cell, it changes the cell's polarity, making it more positive. This causes the cell to contract, and stimulates the rest of the cells of the heart to contract as well. This is a heart beat.

Electrocardiogram

Your heart is composed of four chambers: a right and left atrium and ventricle. The top of the heart is known as the atrium, consisting of a left and right chamber. Blood passes through the atrium before it enters into the ventricles. The right and left ventricles are the lower chambers of the heart. As deoxygenated blood flows into the heart from the body, it enters the right atrium, then it goes into the right ventricle. The right ventricle delivers it to the lungs to become oxygenated. Blood returns from the lungs and into the heart via the left atrium. From the left atrium it is moved into the left ventricle. As your heart contracts, the left ventricle pumps freshly oxygenated blood to the body. An electrocardiogram gives you a picture of this activity going on inside your heart. An ECG shows a rhythmic wave of contractions and rest. The first wave, known as the P wave, indicates the contraction of the atrial chambers. The QRS segment shows the contraction of the ventricles. The T wave, the last wave of the rhythm represents the ventricles refilling.

Complications

Too much calcium can cause the gap between the QRS complex and the T wave to shorten. This condition is known as short QT syndrome which can lead to two potentially dangerous arrythmias. A short QT interval can lead to atrial fibrillation, or uncontrolled contractions of the atrium which are the upper chambers of your heart. This condition is marked by shortness of breath, tiredness and tightness in the chest. The more dangerous arrythmia caused by a short QT interval is ventricular fibrillation. This condition occurs with wildly erratic contractions of the lower chambers or ventricles. The ventricles must pump blood out to the body and to the lungs. Fibrillation does not allow the ventricles to fill with blood, so the body does not receive adequate blood flow. This condition can be fatal.

Treatment

Treatment for hypercalcemia depends on the cause. The underlying condition will be treated as well as a removal of excess calcium from the blood. In extreme cases, hospitalization may be necessary. This will include rehydration as well as dialysis to remove the excess calcium without causing damage to the kidneys. If you suspect you are hypercalcemiac, contact your doctor.