Calcium and potassium are essential minerals that your body needs for development, structure and proper function. Deficiencies of either calcium or potassium can result in major health complications including bone disease and impaired heart function. Additionally, excessive blood calcium and potassium levels can also cause potentially dangerous situations. Hyperkalemia, or excessive blood potassium, is commonly treated with calcium-based salts like calcium chloride or calcium gluconate.
Role of Calcium in the Body
An essential dietary mineral, calcium is the most abundant of all minerals in your body. Calcium has many functions in the body, including structural roles in your bones and teeth, communication roles between cells and tissues, and functional roles for some proteins and enzymes. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, calcium deficiencies have been implicated in several diseases, including colon cancer, hypertension and osteoporosis. You should get most of your calcium from dietary sources including dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese, and from beans and vegetables like broccoli and spinach.
Potassium Function in Health
Potassium is another essential dietary mineral that plays a role in a variety of vital functions in your body. Like calcium, potassium is an important structural component of your bones. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, potassium is also an important electrolyte, because it's used in the electrical communication of nerve cells for proper function of muscle contraction, including your heartbeat. Because of this important role in muscle function, potassium imbalances can have a direct effect on your heart, which can lead to arrhythmias and even heart failure.
Hyperkalemia
Hyperkalemia is a condition that describes an excessive amount of potassium in the blood and is usually the result of inadequate removal due to malfunctioning kidneys. Chronic or acute kidney disease limits the waste filtering capabilities of the kidneys and potassium can buildup in the blood. According to MedLine Plus, symptoms of hyperkalemia include a slow or weak pulse, an irregular heartbeat and nausea, and may also result in loss of muscle control and cardiac arrest.
Effect of Calcium on Hyperkalemia
There are several treatments for hyperkalemia including dialysis and drug therapies like diuretics and binding resins. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, calcium chloride and calcium gluconate are common therapies for hyperkalemia because it reduces the effects of the excess potassium on the heart. Drugs.com points out that while calcium gluconate will minimize the detrimental effects of excessive potassium on the heart, it will not have any effect on the amount of potassium in the blood.
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