What are the effects of high potassium levels?

Potassium is a nutrient used by the body to maintain muscles and organs, including the heart. Normally, the body regulates this mineral in the bloodstream, using kidneys to filter any excess, but different factors can lead to high potassium levels. The external symptoms of this condition may be mild and include sudden weakness, fatigue or nausea. This makes it all the more dangerous because high potassium levels can cause a fatal heart attack without warning. Doctors often check the levels of endangered patients, such as those who have kidney disease or use potassium supplements.

Symptoms

high levels of potassium, also called hyperkalaemia, lead to cellular failure at the system level. This can cause symptoms such as hyperventilation, nausea and inexplicable changes in pulse. These symptoms are very non -specific, so the condition is very difficult for the doctor to diagnose without blood or kidney testing. Often there are no observable symptoms at all. IfImmediate measures are not taken to reduce the amount of potassium in the body, the condition may be fatal. Fortunately, most people endangered by the development of a high level of this mineral already in the care of a doctor for a different condition and should have the level of potassium in the blood regularly tested.

potassium and health

Most foods, especially fruits such as banana and avocado, naturally contain potassium. Small quantities are distributed in body cells, including blood cells. Removing excess potassium from the blood is one of the main functions of the kidneys; In a healthy individual, it will be excreted as waste. Some health conditions and treatments may prevent this professional, which causes the body to keep more minerals than it needs.

definitions and causes of high levels

In a healthy adult, potassium levels between 3.5 and 5.0 Meq/L should be, which is a measurement of a blood concentration. Levels higher nEŽ 5.1 are considered dangerous and levels greater than 6.0 represent an emergency that requires immediate medical treatment. Medical experts rarely control the patient's potassium if they are not treated for condition such as kidney disease.

For the role of kidneys in controlling the amount of different chemicals in the body, kidney disease or disorder is one of the most common causes of high potassium levels. Some drugs may also disrupt the body's ability to process and exclude this mineral. The disease or sudden trauma may occasionally cause the blood cell release to the bloodstream, leading to hyperkalaemia. Unfortunately, this can cause the blood test to be inaccurate if the cells are torn when blood is taken.

In some cases, this condition may also cause a person's diet. Salt substitutes, many of which are used by heart patients often include potassium chloride, which looks like table salt and has a similar taste. Even in these cases, however, fatal levels rarelyAnd it accumulates if the patient also does not have undiagnosed kidney or digestive problems.

Prevention

Patients with a risk of hyperkalaemia should avoid salt substitutes and foods with high potassium levels. It is possible to "infuse" or remove the mineral from vegetables by soaking in the water for a longer period of time. Some medicines, such as sodium bicarbonate and diuretics, can also help reduce high levels of potassium in the blood.

Treatment

Emergency care for high potassium levels may include intravenous glucose or insulin that will reduce the amount of potassium in the bloodstream. Calcium can help minimize the effect of mineral on the heart. Hemodialysis in which blood is filtered by a machine outside the body is one of the most reliable treatments.

intentional use

legal jurisdictions that practice a deadly injection as a form of death punishment cause deliberate use of hyperkalaemia. The chemicals used in the processing process include potassium chloride that is consideredn for a humane way to close the heart; This compound is also used in some euthanasia devices. Less controversially, chemicals are sometimes used in cardiac surgery to stop the heart if it is not possible to do a procedure when beaten.