Potassium is not only a mineral, but an electrolyte as well. The electrical charge of potassium helps the mineral control muscle contraction and nerve impulses. About half of the potassium in your body is located inside your cells. The remaining half is dispersed throughout the fluid outside of your cells, with a small percentage in your blood. The amount of potassium in your blood is so small, that even slight increases or decreases can have detrimental effects on your health.
Potassium Levels
Normal blood potassium ranges from 3.6 to 4.8 mEq/L. When your blood potassium level reaches 6.0 mEq/L, it is referred to as high blood potassium, or hyperkalemia. If the amount of potassium in your blood falls to less than 2.5 mEq/L, it is classified as hypokalemia, or low blood potassium.
Hyperkalemia
Your kidneys are responsible for maintaining the levels of potassium in your blood. In healthy individuals, excess potassium is removed by the kidneys and excreted in the urine. The most common cause of hyperkalemia is acute or chronic kidney disease. If your kidneys cannot function properly, they do not remove potassium and levels in the blood rise. Other possible causes of hyperkalemia include Type 1 diabetes, regular use of certain medications, Addison's disease and alcoholism.
The main concern of hyperkalemia is heart attack. If your blood contains too much potassium, it causes the heart to contract and relax at increased speeds and can lead to fatal cardiac arrest. High potassium levels can also lead to arrhythmias and difficulty with muscle control.
Hypokalemia
The most common cause of hypokalemia is an increase in potassium loss, either through the urine or the digestive tract. Potassium loss can occur as a result of prolonged use of diuretics, diarrhea, eating disorders, laxative abuse and chronic kidney failure.
The main concern of hypokalemia is irregular heart beat and paralysis. Because potassium control muscle contraction, if your blood does not contain enough of the mineral, your body shuts down. This can lead to life-threatening paralysis of the lungs and abnormalities in heart rhythm. If left untreated, hypokalemia can lead to a specific type of kidney disease called hypokalemic nephropathy.
Treatment
The initial focus of treatment for both hyperkalemia and hypokalemia is to return blood potassium levels back to normal. Those with hyperkalemia may be given diuretics or put on dialysis, which can remove potassium from the blood. Those with hypokalemia may receive oral potassium supplements or intravenous potassium supplements, depending on the severity of the condition. Once potassium levels are restored, further treatment depends on the cause of the potassium abnormalities.
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