Who is most at risk for potassium?
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Potassium deficiency is when a person has abnormally low levels of potassium in their body. It is also called hypokalaemia. Show
Potassium is a mineral that helps regulate fluid in the body and helps muscles and nerves to work properly. It is found inside cells and is essential for good health. What are the symptoms of potassium deficiency?If you have low levels of potassium, symptoms may include:
What causes potassium deficiency?Hypokalaemia can happen if someone becomes dehydrated. Some medications can cause the body to lose potassium, such as diuretics (fluid tablets). You are at risk of developing low potassium levels if you:
How is potassium deficiency diagnosed?Potassium deficiency is diagnosed with a blood test. Your doctor may order a test as part of a routine medical examination, or because you have high blood pressure or kidney disease. How is potassium deficiency treated?If you have low potassium, your doctor may recommend you take a supplement. You should only take a potassium supplement under medical supervision, as having too much potassium in the body can also cause serious health problems. If your levels are very low, you may need potassium through a drip in hospital. Your doctor may also adjust your medications, if they are causing the potassium deficiency, or recommend you eat more foods that are high in potassium. Someone with severe hypokalemia can experience:
Severe hypokalemia can be life threatening. Can potassium deficiency be prevented?Most people can prevent potassium deficiency by eating a healthy, balanced diet. If you are at increased risk, for example if you are taking diuretics, talk to your doctor about your potassium levels. Hyperkalemia is a higher than normal level of potassium in the blood. Although mild cases may not produce symptoms and may be easy to treat, severe cases of hyperkalemia that are left untreated can lead to fatal cardiac arrhythmias, which are abnormal heart rhythms. You may be at risk for hyperkalemia because of:
Less common causes can include:
In some cases, multiple factors may be involved or the cause is never clearly identified. Download our Answers by Heart sheet: What is Hyperkalemia? (High Potassium) (PDF) | Spanish (PDF) How does hyperkalemia affect the body?Potassium is a mineral that is crucial for normal cell function in the body, including heart muscle cells. The body gets potassium through foods. The right level of potassium is key. The kidneys are primarily responsible for maintaining the body’s total potassium content by balancing potassium intake with potassium excretion. If intake of potassium far outweighs the kidneys’ ability to remove it, or if kidney function decreases, there can be too much potassium and hyperkalemia may occur. Potassium and sodium concentrations play a crucial role in electric signal functioning of the heart’s middle thick muscle layer, known as the myocardium. An above normal level of potassium can interfere with proper electric signals in that muscle layer and lead to different types of heart arrhythmias. How is it diagnosed?It can be difficult to diagnose hyperkalemia. Often there are no symptoms. When there are, symptoms may include nausea; a slow, weak or irregular pulse; irritability, paraesthesia (numbness), muscle weakness, diarrhea, abdominal cramping or sudden collapse if the heartbeat slows or stops. In many cases, hyperkalemia diagnosis must rely on clinical information such as a history of kidney failure or the use of medicines known to cause hyperkalemia. Laboratory data and electrocardiographic changes can also be used along with clinical information to reach a diagnosis. For most people, their potassium level should be between 3.5 and 5.0 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). Hyperkalemia is a potassium level of greater than 5.5. Patients with hyperkalemia may have a normal electrocardiogram or only subtle changes. Can it be prevented?Dietary changes can help prevent and treat high potassium levels. Talk to your doctor to understand any risk you might have for hyperkalemia. Your doctor may recommend foods that you may need to limit or avoid. These may include:
If you are on a low-salt diet, avoid taking salt substitutes. How is hyperkalemia treated?If your potassium level is very high, or if there are dangerous indications such as changes in an electrocardiogram, emergency treatment is needed. That may involve supplying calcium to the body through an IV to treat the effects on muscles and the heart or administering glucose and insulin through an IV to decrease potassium levels long enough to correct the cause. There are also medicines that help remove the potassium from your intestines and in some cases, a diuretic may be given. Emergency treatment may also include kidney dialysis if kidney function is deteriorating; medication to help remove potassium from the intestines before absorption; sodium bicarbonate if acidosis is the cause; and water pills, or diuretics. A doctor may also advise stopping or reducing potassium supplements and stopping or changing the doses of certain medicines for heart disease and high blood pressure. Always follow your health provider's instructions about taking or stopping medicines. For people with heart failureThere are some drugs that heart failure patients take that are associated with hyperkalemia. These are: diuretics, beta-blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors). For patients with heart failure on these drugs, if any symptoms are experienced as above, you should tell your doctor to make sure that the symptoms are not related to hyperkalemia. Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff. Who is at risk for high potassium?If you have kidney disease, you are at risk for high potassium because your kidneys cannot remove the extra potassium in your blood. Instead of leaving your body through your urine, the extra potassium in your blood travels through your kidneys and back into your bloodstream.
Which patient is at the highest risk for hyperkalemia a patient?Patients at highest risk for developing hyperkalemia are those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure (HF), particularly those on guideline-recommended inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS).
What is the main cause of high potassium?The most common cause of genuinely high potassium (hyperkalemia) is related to your kidneys, such as: Acute kidney failure. Chronic kidney disease.
What is the risk level of potassium?Your blood potassium level is normally 3.6 to 5.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). Having a blood potassium level higher than 6.0 mmol/L can be dangerous and usually requires immediate treatment.
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