High potassium levels in your blood, also known as hyperkalemia, can occur for a number of reasons. Normally, the amounts of potassium in your blood stay within a narrow range, between 3.6 to 4.8 milliequivalents per liter, or mEq/L. If your levels rise over 6 mEq/L, serious complications can occur, the Mayo Clinic warns. Your muscles, including your heart, may become weak, leading to an irregular or very slow and weak heartbeat. Complete heart block can occur, followed by cardiac arrest. Treatments vary according to the cause.
Kidney Disease
Any disease or medication that damages the kidney can cause hyperkalemia by decreasing the amount of potassium removed in the urine. If hyperkalemia occurs with severe kidney disease, hemodialysis to remove the potassium may become necessary. Intravenous calcium along with insulin and glucose may decrease hyperkalemia quickly, but the effects last only 20 to 30 minutes, The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library states. This treatment is useful for short-term management while waiting to start dialysis or waiting for other measures to take effect.
Medications
Many medications can cause hyperkalemia. Medications such as potassium-sparing diuretics, which decrease fluid retention but retain potassium, can cause hyperkalemia. Stopping the medication and starting loop diuretics, which eliminate potassium along with fluid, can help. Blood pressure medications such as ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers decrease potassium secretion while beta blockers move potassium out of cells into the blood. Immunosuppressants used after organ transplant also decrease potassium excretion. Changing medications along with other treatments helps lower potassium levels.
Tissue Damage
Damage to cells can release potassium into the bloodstream. Muscle breakdown, burns, bleeding into soft tissue, tumor removal, surgery, tissue destruction from injury or destruction of blood cells can all raise potassium levels. Tissue trauma normally doesn't cause hyperkalemia unless kidney damage is also present, MedlinePlus reports.
Increased Potassium Intake
Intravenous injection of potassium, use of sodium substitutes, TPN, total parental nutrition given through an IV and high dietary intake in the presence of kidney disease can all raise potassium levels. Cation-exchange resin medications such as sodium polystyrene sulfonate attach to potassium in the intestine and remove excess in the stool.
Acidosis
If the acid-base balance in the blood becomes unbalanced, acidosis can occur. Hyperglycemia, very high levels of glucose in your blood, can lead to acidosis. Many other diseases can also cause acidosis. Intravenous sodium bicarbonate may help lower high potassium levels in acidosis, along with other methods for decreasing potassium.
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