Hyperkalemia is a condition in which an excessive level of potassium is present in the blood. A high potassium level is often found in patients with compromised kidneys. It can also occur due to medication, injury, uncontrolled diabetes, burns or other conditions. An individual with severe hyperkalemia is hospitalized for treatment and cardiac monitoring. Uncorrected hyperkalemia can be fatal.
Heartbeat Irregularities
Excessive potassium levels affect the electrical activity in the heart. This can cause the heart to beat too slowly, skip beats, beat weakly or pound strongly. Occasionally, a person can feel these changes but they are more often found on an electrocardiogram or cardiac telemetry. The blood pressure may drop, causing weakness, dizziness or fainting. High potassium can lead to a fatal arrhythmia.
Muscle Twitching
Hyperkalemia can cause the muscles that control bones, called skeletal muscles, to twitch uncontrollably. The individual may feel tingling or burning in the feet, hands or face. Numbness may be felt around the mouth or in the hands or feet; this numbness usually follows the muscular twitching.
Muscle Weakness
UpToDate explains that the leg muscles may feel weak when excessive potassium levels are present. This usually occurs a while after the tingling sensations and numbness are present. As the condition worsens, the weakness may spread to the arms, and finally the back muscles. The muscles may become temporarily paralyzed if the condition remains uncorrected.
Nausea
The University of Maryland Medical Center lists nausea and vomiting as two consequences of high blood potassium. Some patients experience diarrhea as potassium levels rise.
Difficulty Breathing
High potassium occasionally affects the muscles that control respiration, causing breathing to become difficult. This can cause the individual to feel as though she cannot catch her breath or fully inhale. The book "Medical-Surgical Nursing" explains that potassium levels are lethal by the time they affect the muscles of respiration.
Fatigue
Hyperkalemia often leads to fatigue, or excessive tiredness. This often causes the individual to cease physical activity and sit or lie down, and may come on quickly, or over time. The fatigue may be accompanied by heartbeat irregularities.
References
- "Medical-Surgical Nursing"; Donna Ignatavicius, MS, RN and Linda Workman, PhD, RN; 2002
- MedlinePlus: Hyperkalemia
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Hyperkalemia
- UpToDate: Clinical Manifestations and Treatment of Hyperkalemia
