Potassium plays an important role in regulating muscle tissue and maintaining the balance of a variety of body processes. Too much or too little potassium affects the way your nerves and muscles function. In particular, excess potassium causes the heart muscle to decrease its activity, which may lead to a heart attack.
Need for Potassium
The mineral potassium is required to ensure the proper functioning of your body's cells, tissues and organs. It supports healthy heart activity and is essential for muscle contraction, affecting digestion and other muscular functions. Potassium, which is one of the electrolytes, also supports bodily activities by conducting electricity through your system. A healthy diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruits, along with meats, fish and dairy products, provides most people with sufficient potassium.
Causes of Excess Potassium
Having too much potassium in your system is called hyperkalemia, a condition that may reflect an overall increase in your body's potassium or an increase in the amount of potassium your cells are releasing into the bloodstream. Most hyperkalemia is caused by kidney disorders that prevent the kidneys from ridding your body of excess potassium. Hyperkalemia can also be caused by insufficient hormone production associated with Addison's disease, tissue injury and excessive intake of potassium.
Effects
Too much potassium is dangerous because it can be hard to detect. People with hyperkalemia often have no symptoms, but may experience nausea, irregular heartbeat or a pulse that is slow, weak or undetectable. Some patients experience tingling skin, areas of numbness in the hands or feet, general muscular weakness or limpness. While some individuals are able to tolerate high levels of potassium, the condition may result in deadly complications, including cardiac arrest.
Detection and Treatment
Your doctor is most likely to find hyperkalemia by conducting blood tests in the course of diagnosing another condition or monitoring your medications. Indications of hyperkalemia may also show up in the results of an electrocardiogram. If your potassium level is very high or you are experiencing severe symptoms, you will probably be hospitalized for treatment. Emergency treatments may include dialysis, diuretic medications and intravenous interventions aimed at quickly reducing dangerous symptoms.
Important Facts
Even minor changes in your potassium levels can have serious consequences for nerve and muscle functioning. If your doctor recommends a potassium test, follow pre-test directions carefully, since many substances may interfere with the accuracy of test results. Your kidneys become less efficient at removing excess potassium with age, so older individuals may have an increased risk of hyperkalemia. No one should take potassium supplements without consulting a doctor.
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