Does atenolol have an effect on calcium metabolism?

Hypercalcaemia is often an incidental finding during biochemical investigation, being found in 1. 1% of the general population 1 and 3-6% of patients in hospital. 2 The most common cause is primary hyperparathyroidism. Ten per cent of patients with sarcoidosis have hypercalcaemia, but hypercalciuria is much more common. 3 It is therefore possible that β antagonists may be given to some patients with unsuspected disturbances in their calcium metabolism. I report on the effects of the β 1 antagonist atenolol on the calcium balance of two patients.