Association of Higher Serum Calcium Levels With Smaller Infarct Volumes in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

In ischemic stroke, excessive intracellular serum calcium accumulation triggers a cascade of cytotoxic events that lead to the activation of enzymes involved in cell death.¹ In preclinical models, low extracellular serum calcium levels paradoxically enhance this overloading of intracellular serum calcium and potentiate cell death.² Whether serum calcium levels affect serum calcium level–dependent excitotoxic pathways in the setting of human acute cerebral ischemia remains unclear, but mounting data indicate that higher serum calcium levels at admission are associated with better clinical outcomes after ischemic stroke.^3,4