An imbalance in aldosterone, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, can cause high serum--or bloodstream--levels of potassium. The kidneys work with aldosterone to regulate the amount of potassium in the body. When hyperkalemia--a term used to describe high serum levels of potassium--is severe, it can lead to death. Therefore, it is a disorder that requires prompt medical attention.
Adrenal Glands and Kidneys
The kidneys remove waste products and other materials from the body via urine. The adrenal glands manufacture aldosterone, and this hormone stimulates the kidneys to remove potassium and sodium from the body. However, aldosterone, when produced in normal amounts, makes the kidneys retain more sodium and excrete more potassium.
Potassium
Potassium is a nutrient found in many foods such as fruit and vegetables. In the body, it is an electrolyte, a substance that can conduct electricity. The heart is made of muscle, and the rate at which it beats is stimulated by electrical signals. Potassium is important in skeletal and smooth-muscle contraction as well as in nerve stimulation. Therefore, it helps the heart muscles contract and beat at an efficient pace because it helps the heart's electrical system work properly. It also helps body systems made of smooth muscles, such as the digestive tract, function effectively. Skeletal muscles are muscles attached to bone. They enable voluntary movements such as running. These muscles need potassium to function also.
Hyperkalemia
Because proper functioning of the heart depends on potassium, hyperkalemia, or high potassium levels in the bloodstream, can cause heart dysfunction. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library explains that hyperkalemia can cause abnormal heartbeat, or cardiac arrhythmia. This problem can progress to cardiac arrest and sudden death. Other symptoms of hyperkalemia include muscle weakness, paralysis and nausea. Hyperkalemia has many causes, and one of them is adrenal disease.
Adrenal Disease
Addison's disease occurs when the adrenal glands are underactive. In this hormonal disease, low levels of certain adrenal hormones such as aldosterone are produced. Because aldosterone stimulates the kidneys to retain less potassium and more sodium, when it is low, as it is in Addison's disease, the kidneys retain more potassium and excrete more sodium. This can then lead to hyperkalemia, or high potassium levels in the body.
Treatment
The Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, a website of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, explains that long-term treatment of hyperkalemia involves treatment of its underlying cause. Here, Addison's disease would be treated. In Addison's disease, the deficient aldosterone hormone is replaced with fludrocortisone, a medication that mimics the action of aldosterone. However, in severe cases of hyperkalemia, the immediate goal of treatment is removing excess potassium from the body and protecting the body from the effects of high potassium levels.
