HYPOCALCEMIA AS A RARE CAUSE OF ACUTE LEF T-HEART FAILURE

We report the case of a 50-year-old female in whom the connection betw een hypocalcemia and heart failure was not made until a second hospita l admission for left ventricular failure. Under appropriate calcium su pplementation the symptoms were relieved within 2 days and the patient remained well thereafter The hypocalcemia was found to be caused by a uto-immune hypoparathyroidism. Heart failure due to hypocalcemia has b een rarely reported, and even in textbooks the subject is poorly docum ented. The physiologic functions of calcium and the implications of de ficiency for heart muscle are outlined, with a review of the literatur e. A treatment regimen for hypocalcemia is recommended.