Patient/caregiver was instructed upon role of calcium in various biological functions as follows:

Calcium is one of the most important minerals found in the human body. Calcium forms an important component of the skeletal structures and plays a significant role in the normal function of various vital body parts, as discussed below.

Skeletal muscle Contraction

• Transmission of nerve impulse to the skeletal muscle plays an important role with initiating muscle contraction.
• Calcium plays a significant role in cross bridging of skeletal muscle proteins, which is an integral part of optimal muscle contraction.
• Deficiency of calcium can result in poor cross bridge formation and weak muscle contractions.

Cardiac contraction and heart beat

• Calcium plays an important role in generation of cardiac impulse in the pacemaker cells of the heart and transmission of the impulse to the cardiac muscle.
• Thus, calcium plays a major role in the regulation of normal heart rate and rhythm.
• Also, calcium plays an important role in cross bridging of cardiac muscle proteins, which is an integral part of optimal cardiac muscle contraction.
• Deficiency of calcium can result in altered cardiac rate and rhythm, poor cardiac contraction, compromised cardiac function, and heart failure.