While your heart is not electric like the light you plug into a socket, it does work by electrical means to keep pace. When your heart starts too beat too slowly, this condition is called bradycardia. Changes to your heartbeat are one of the effects associated with hyperkalemia, a condition that causes you to have too much potassium in your blood. If you do not correct your potassium level, you are at increased risk for experiencing cardiac arrest.
Potassium and Your Heartbeat
Potassium is a mineral found in many foods, chiefly fruits and vegetables. The mineral is the predominant ion found inside your cells. It exchanges with sodium, the predominant ion outside your cells, to generate energy that powers your cells to perform functions like making your heart beat and transferring nerve impulses. Like many things in your body, potassium requires balance. Too much or too little potassium can affect your heartbeat in different ways.
Hyperkalemia
Excess potassium in your diet is known as hyperkalemia. This condition is rarely caused by excess potassium in your diet, but instead typically has to do with an underlying medical condition. This includes renal tubular acidosis, renal failure, trauma from burns or primary hypoaldosteronism. You also can experience hyperkalemia from excess potassium supplementation. In addition to bradycardia, symptoms associated with hyperkalemia include nausea or a slow, weakened pulse. However, it is possible to experience hyperkalemia, yet not have symptoms.
Diagnosis
If you suspect you may be experiencing hyperkalemia, your physician may order an electrocardiogram, which measures how fast your heart is beating. Your physician also can take a blood test to determine your overall potassium level. Because cardiac arrest -- when your heart ceases beating -- can be a side effect of high potassium levels, initiating immediate treatment when you have hyperkalemia is vital.
Treatment
If you have extremely high potassium levels and your bradycardia is severely slowing, your physician may prescribe medications like diuretics to stimulate your kidneys to release potassium or sodium bicarbonate to reduce acid buildup in your blood. Because hyperkalemia is typically related to an underlying medical condition, your physician will also initiate treatment or further diagnostic testing to address any medical conditions you may have. Because bradycardia can weaken your heart muscle, it's possible you may need long-term treatments to keep your heartbeat functioning normally.
References
- MedlinePlus; Hyperkalemia; November 2009
- PubMed Health; Arrhythmias; June 2010
- PubMed Health; Hyperkalemia; November 2009
- American "American Family Physician"; Hyperkalemia; Joyce C. Hollander-Rodriguez, M.D., and James Calvert, M.D.; January 2006
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Hyperkalemia; Steven Ehrlich, N.M.D.; February 2010
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