Atorvastatin linked to abnormally high calcium levels

This paper was published in the Archives of the Turkish Society of Cardiology 2014 Oct;42(7):662-6

 

Study title and authors:

Can atorvastatin calcium cause asymptomatic hypercalcemia?

Ipekçi SH, Baldane S, Sözen M, Kebapçılar L

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey.

 

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25490303

Hypercalcemia is a condition in which the calcium level in your blood is above normal. Too much calcium in your blood can weaken your bones, create kidney stones, and interfere with the way your heart and brain works.

This paper reports the case of a woman who developed hypercalcemia after starting atorvastatin.

(i) A 52-year-old female was referred to hospital for hypercalcemia.
(ii) She had been taking atorvastatin for 1.5 years.
(iii) Atorvastatin induced hypercalcemia was suspected.
(iii) Exhaustive tests were conducted that ruled out all other causes of hypercalcemia.
(iv) She stopped taking atorvastatin and her calcium levels returned to normal.
(v) She restarted atorvastatin and again her hypercalcemia returned.
(vi) She again stopped taking atorvastatin and her calcium levels returned to normal.