Hyperkalemia

High levels of potassium in the blood

The body needs electrolytes to function, electrolytes are minerals like potassium, sodium, bicarbonate, and chloride. Electrolytes have an important role to play by helping move nutrients into the body’s cells and remove waste from them. They help maintain the body’s natural water balance and stabilise PH levels.

Hyperkalemia is the term used to describe high levels of potassium in your blood. Potassium is mainly found in the body’s cells, but a small and very important amount will make up the plasma, the liquid part of the blood. It is important for maintaining healthy function of the nerves and muscle cells.

Monitoring the levels of potassium in the blood is important because even small changes in the level of potassium can have negative impacts on heart health, affecting the hearts rhythm or ability to beat. Therefore, an electrolyte blood test will be ordered if a doctor suspects you may have elevated levels of potassium in your blood. Normally you should register a potassium level between 3.6 and 5.2 millimoles per litre but if your test returns an abnormal result at 6 or above then this would indicate a more serious underlying condition that would warrant immediate investigation to determine the cause.

See also: Hyperuricemia , Kidney Pain

What causes Hyperkalemia?

It is common for high potassium levels to occur if your kidneys are not working as they should. The primary purpose of the kidney is to cleanse the blood of toxins by producing urine to help the toxins pass harmlessly out of the body, but they are also responsible for maintaining healthy levels of electrolytes like potassium. Unfortunately, sometimes the kidneys may stop working correctly causing dangerously high levels of toxins or excess fluid to build up in the system, when this happens you may experience the symptoms of kidney failure such as high blood pressure levels, extreme fatigue and lethargy, headaches, fever, and chills, swelling of your facial features, fluid retention, feeling or being sick with a possible loss of appetite and localised lower back pain. If your kidneys are functioning correctly the high potassium levels could also be caused by other conditions such as Addison’s disease, characterised by adrenal insufficiency, an inability to produce certain hormones, or type 1 diabetes, a condition that causes the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood to rise too high due to an inability to effectively produce the correct level of insulin hormone.

What can you do at home?

High levels of potassium registered in a blood sample does not always indicate a serious undiagnosed underlying condition but can sometimes be explained by other means. When your blood sample is drawn, the process may cause blood cells to rupture, leaking potassium into the blood sample and rendering the result unreliable. If your doctor suspects that this is the case, they may order a repeat blood test to make sure. It is also possible for dehydration to cause elevated potassium levels in the blood, so it is important that you maintain a healthy lifestyle, drinking plenty of fluids to maintain healthy electrolyte levels. If you are taking supplements that contain potassium it is important to always read the labels and ensure that you do not take an excessive amount that could cause your levels to climb too high.

You should also seek further medical attention if you experience any of the following:

High potassium is usually discovered when your doctor orders blood test results after you have reported symptoms that could indicate an electrolyte imbalance. Treatment will depend heavily on the underlying cause of the potassium spike, if you have already been diagnosed with a condition that affects electrolyte levels or requires regularly taking medication that could affect the potassium levels in your system, it may be possible to change to a more suitable medication. However, if you are experiencing the symptoms listed below then you may be suffering acutely high levels of potassium and should seek immediate medical advice.

If you are experiencing muscle fatigue
If you experience significant weakness
Paralysis, an inability to move
Arrhythmias, abnormal heart rhythms
Nausea or vomiting

Are you worried about your Hyperkalemia?

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Possible Causes and Related Conditions

Acute kidney failure
Addison's disease (adrenal insufficiency)
Angiotensin II receptor blockers
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
Beta blockers
Chronic kidney disease
Dehydration
Destruction of red blood cells due to severe injury or burns
Excessive use of potassium supplements
Type 1 diabetes