Causes of Malignant Hyperthermia
Malignant hyperthermia is triggered by gaseous, inhaled anesthetics, and/or muscle relaxants used during surgery, which cause a chain of events within the body of a susceptible person. The chain reaction starts when the presence of the anesthetic initiates the release of calcium within muscles. In patients with gene mutations that affect the sensitivity and release of calcium in the muscle cells, the level of calcium increases excessively in the muscle cells. These high levels increase metabolism and also cause the muscle to contract and stay contracted, which results in production of heat, acidosis, and muscle cell breakdown.

Who Can Have Malignant Hyperthermia
If there is one or more people that have had the malignant hyperthermia complications or have experienced sudden death when anesthesia was introduced, then it is possible to have the genes necessary to create malignant hyperthermia in the next generation or blood relatives. This is especially important information to give to a doctor if plans for surgery are scheduled as it could help save the life of the individual by not using certain types of anesthesia that are known to trigger a malignant hyperthermia episode. If the patient has some muscular diseases involved in their medical history, they may also be screened through various methods to determine the likelihood that they have malignant hyperthermia complications present.