Understanding the Calcium Blood Test: Importance, Procedure & Results

What is a Calcium blood test?

Calcium is considered an essential mineral in the body; your blood contains about 1% of your body's calcium. A calcium test is needed to check the levels of calcium present in the blood.

Calcium blood tests can be divided into two main types, namely.

• Total Calcium Test: This test calculates the value of calcium that attaches to particular proteins in the blood and the free calcium that is unattached. This test is usually included in a routine blood screening test called BMP.
• Ionised Calcium Test: This type of calcium blood test only measures the amount of free calcium in the blood.

A calcium blood test will not be able to calculate how much calcium is present in the bones. For this, you will have to get a bone density test done.

What is Calcium, and what does it do?

Around 99% of the calcium stored in your body can be found in the teeth and bones. While the other 1% plays an essential role in the blood, such as:

• Aiding the functioning of your nervous system
• Cardiac function and transporting blood through the blood vessels to other parts of the body
• Blood clotting
• Helping the muscles around the bones squeeze together for movement

The amount of vitamin D you get from your diet and exposure to sunlight also affects the amount of calcium in the body, as Vitamin D helps absorb calcium.

Why do I need a calcium blood test?

Here are three main reasons why you may need regular calcium blood tests:

1. To understand how effectively your treatment works if you have been diagnosed with a condition affecting your blood calcium levels.
2. If you show signs or symptoms of too much (hypercalcemia) or too little (hypocalcemia) calcium in your blood.
3. In case you are taking any medicines that affect the amount of calcium in your blood.

Signs of hypercalcemia:

• Fatigue
• Frequent urination
• Increased thirst
• Constipation
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting

Signs of hypoglycemia:

• Brittle nails
• Dry and scaly skin
• Craps in the back and legs
• Depression
• Confusion
• Restlessness or irritability

Severe hypoglycemia can cause symptoms such as:

• Muscle aches
• Tingling in the tongue, fingers, lips, and feet
• Stiffening and spasms of your muscles
• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Throat muscle spasm/difficulty breathing

Tests like basic metabolic panel (BMP) and comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) contain calcium blood tests, so your calcium levels will be checked regardless of your need.

Your healthcare provider will also ask you to get a calcium test if they suspect your condition can affect your calcium levels. These include:

• Kidney disorders
• Thyroid disorders
• Parathyroid diseases
• Some types of cancers
• Malnutrition

Medicines like corticosteroids, rifampin, calcitonin, chloroquine, cinacalcet, bisphosphonates, denosumab, plicamycin, lithium, foscarnet, hydrochlorothiazide, and plicamycin affect the levels of calcium in your blood. If you are taking these medicines you may need regular calcium blood tests. Excessive consumption of calcium carbonate in over-the-counter medications like Tums and Rolaids can also affect your calcium levels.

Who performs a calcium blood test?

A phlebotomist is a person who usually takes and collects blood samples for a calcium blood test. However, anyone who is trained to draw blood can take this sample. Once the sample is collected, it is sent to the lab, where another technician known as a medical laboratory scientist prepares the sample and completes the test on an analyser.

How do I prepare for a calcium blood test?

A calcium blood test does not need any special preparations if that is the only test you are getting done.

However, sometimes, a calcium blood test may be part of a primary or comprehensive blood panel that has to test other parameters of your blood. In this case, you may need a fasting blood sample, which means you cannot drink or eat anything for 8 to 12 hours before the test.

What should I expect during my calcium blood test?

A calcium test procedure is similar to a regular blood test. You can expect the following steps:

• You will be asked to sit comfortably before the healthcare provider or doctor checks your arms for accessible veins. The most commonly used vein to draw blood for a calcium blood test is the one on the inner part of your elbow.
• The technician will then clean and disinfect the spot on your arm.
• You will feel a slight pinch or sting as the needle is inserted to collect the blood sample.
• The blood is collected in a small tube called a vacutainer
• Once enough blood is collected, the technician will remove the needle and apply pressure on the insertion spot with their hand or with a small gauze or cotton ball.
• Once the bleeding stops, a small bandage will be placed over the spot.

This process usually only takes a few minutes.

What should I expect after my calcium blood test?

After the blood sample is taken for your calcium blood test, it is sent to a laboratory for the actual test. Once your results are back, your healthcare provider will send you these results along with information about the calcium normal values online; you can also pick up a physical copy from the testing centre.

What are the risks of a calcium blood test?

Calcium blood tests are pretty common and require a simple blood sample collection, making it reasonably risk-free. In some cases, there could be some tenderness or bruising around the blood draw site, but it can go away quickly.

What do the results of a calcium blood test mean?

The results of your calcium blood test will contain your calcium test levels. They are usually in the following format:

• The blood test name or the name of the substance measured in your blood, in this case, calcium blood test.
• The actual measurement or number of the calcium test levels in your blood
• The serum calcium normal range, as well as the calcium normal values for the test
• The actual results about whether your calcium test levels are high or low

What are calcium normal values?

Normal calcium levels can be classified by age. The calcium normal value for adults is around 8.5 to 10.2 milligrams/deciliter, while the same for kids is 4.8 to 5.3 milligrams per deciliter. However, different laboratories usually have varied reference ranges for calcium blood tests, so don't compare one laboratory's serum calcium normal range with another.

The lab will often send you its list of calcium normal values, so you do not have to worry about finding it on your own.

Make sure that you discuss and get clarity on calcium normal value from your healthcare provider, after receiving the reports.

What does a high calcium blood level mean?

If your calcium blood test results indicate that you have high calcium blood levels that are more than the calcium test normal range, it could mean you have:

• Hyperparathyroidism
• Kidney failure
• Lung diseases
• Breast cancer
• Some forms of blood cancer
• Hyperthyroidism
• Paget's disease
• Multiple myeloma

You need to remember that a result after the serum calcium test that shows higher values than the serum calcium normal range is not a confirmation that you have a severe medical condition. In some cases, higher than calcium normal values could also result from your medication. Consult the doctor and let them interpret the reports and tell you the exact condition.

What does a low calcium blood level mean?

Calcium test levels lower than calcium normal values indicate the possibility of medical conditions such as:

• Hypoparathyroidism
• Kidney failure
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Hypomagnesemia
• Celiac disease
• Pancreatitis

As mentioned above, a lower than normal calcium value could be a deficiency in your diet or because of certain medications you may be taking. Ensure that you consult your doctor as soon as you receive your report.

Should I be concerned if I have high or low blood calcium results?

In many cases, a higher or lower than normal calcium value result is simply a result of a lack of calcium in your diet or certain medicines that are altering your calcium blood levels. In rare cases, this could also result from a mistake made during the blood sample collection, transportation, or processing.

Whatever your results, you must contact your healthcare provider to determine why your calcium levels deviated from the serum calcium normal range. Your healthcare provider may advise more tests that measure:

• Urine calcium
• Phosphorous
• Ionised blood calcium
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D
• Thyroid hormone
• Calcitonin

Conclusion

As calcium is one of the most essential minerals in the body, it is important to maintain calcium blood levels within the serum calcium normal range for a healthy life. Regular health checkups and preventative blood tests that include calcium blood tests can help you take proactive steps to stay healthy. Diagnostic centres like Metropolis Labs provide annual packages and at-home testing services. Contact our experts to find out more about our services.