What Is A Person's Potassium Level Supposed To Be?

The potassium in your body comes from the food you eat. After potassium is released from food during digestion, it is absorbed into your bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. Your kidneys maintain your blood potassium level within a narrow range of approximately 3.7 to 5.2 milliequivalents per liter, or mEq/L. The normal range for potassium may vary slightly from one testing laboratory to another. An abnormally low or high potassium level --- known as hypokalemia and hyperkalemia, respectively --- can be serious and potentially life threatening.

Adequate Intake

Ensuring that you have a normal potassium level begins with including a sufficient amount in your diet. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume 4,700 mg of potassium daily. Many foods provide you with high levels of potassium, including soybeans, potatoes, squash, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, fish, milk, yogurt, bananas, peaches, citrus fruit, plums and honeydew melons.

Low Potassium

Your potassium level may fall to an abnormally low level if you lose too much through your intestines or kidneys. Prolonged vomiting or watery diarrhea, laxative abuse and bulimia can deplete your body stores of potassium, leading to hypokalemia. Certain types of water pills cause your kidneys to excrete large amounts of potassium, which can potentially lead to hypokalemia if you do not have sufficient amounts in your diet to counteract this loss. If your doctor prescribes a water pill, be sure to ask whether it may affect your potassium level. You can prevent hypokalemia while on water pills by increasing your dietary potassium intake. Disorders that increase the amount of the hormone cortisol in your bloodstream can increase potassium loss from your kidneys, leading to hypokalemia. Extreme perspiring for several hours without replenishment may also cause your potassium level to fall. Drinking a beverage rich in potassium and other electrolytes while participating in an activity that induces prolonged perspiring can prevent the development of hypokalemia.

High Potassium

Your kidneys prevent the buildup of excess potassium in your body. Poor kidney function and severe tissue injury that releases large amounts of potassium into the bloodstream are the primary causes of an abnormally elevated potassium level. If you have chronic kidney disease, talk with your doctor about whether you should limit the amount of potassium in your diet. Abnormally low production of the adrenal hormone aldosterone, which regulates your kidneys' handling of potassium, can also lead to the development of hyperkalemia.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Your doctor can check your potassium level with a simple blood test. Symptoms frequently do not occur unless your potassium level is markedly elevated or depressed. If your potassium level is mildly to moderately decreased, your doctor may advise you to increase your dietary intake. If your blood potassium level is severely low, you may need intravenous potassium replacement. A mild increase in your potassium level often corrects itself if your kidneys are functioning normally. With moderate to severe hyperkalemia, you may require medical therapy to prevent serious complications, such as an abnormality in your heart rhythm.