Potassium Chloride & Heart Rate

Potassium is one of the six macrominerals -- meaning minerals whose dosages are based on gram amounts -- that your body requires. Potassium chloride is a form of potassium supplement used to replenish your potassium electrolytes, which can be lost through excretion, especially in cases of diarrhea or vomiting. Potassium levels are strongly linked to heart rate. Potassium supplements should not be taken without consulting your doctor first.

Potassium and Your Heart

Potassium dissolves into charged particles called ions when in solution. This makes it an electrolyte -- a substance capable of carrying an electrical charge. The concentration of potassium is about 30 times higher inside your cells than in the fluid that surrounds them. Sodium, another mineral, is found in concentrations 10 times higher outside cells than inside them. This disparity in electrolyte concentrations creates an electrochemical gradient called "membrane potential" that is crucial to heart function, as well as nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction.

Hypokalemia and Heart Rate

When you're diagnosed with hypokalemia, it means that lower than normal levels of potassium are circulating in your bloodstream. Inadequate potassium levels can cause cardiac arrhythmia -- an irregular heartbeat. Some heart medications, such as loop diuretics, can cause a decrease in potassium levels. Other factors that can influence potassium depletion include alcoholism, laxative abuse and congestive heart failure. Potassium chloride supplementation may be prescribed by a doctor as a way of eradicating hypokalemia and restoring your heart rate to normal.

Hyperkalemia and Heart Rate

Hyperkalemia is a term used to describe higher than normal levels of potassium in the blood. According to Drugs.com, if you are already hyperkalemic and you take potassium chloride, you may increase your potassium to a level that causes cardiac arrhythmia that can turn into a heart attack. Factors that can cause hyperkalemia include kidney failure, hyperaldosteronism and the use of potassium-excluding diuretics.