Hyperkalemia (cont.)
What are the symptoms of hyperkalemia?
Hyperkalemia can be asymptomatic, meaning that it causes no symptoms.
Sometimes, patients with hyperkalemia report vague symptoms including:
More serious symptoms of hyperkalemia include
slow heartbeat and weak pulse. Severe hyperkalemia can result in fatal cardiac
standstill (heart stoppage). Generally, a slowly rising
potassium level (such as with chronic kidney failure) is better tolerated than
an abrupt rise in potassium levels. Unless the rise in potassium has been very rapid, symptoms of hyperkalemia are usually not apparent until potassium levels are very high (typically 7.0 mEq/l or higher).
Symptoms may also be present that reflect the underlying medical conditions that are causing the hyperkalemia.
What causes hyperkalemia?
The major causes of hyperkalemia are kidney dysfunction, diseases of the
adrenal gland,
potassium sifting out of cells into the blood circulation, and
medications.
Kidney dysfunction
Potassium is normally excreted by the kidneys, so
disorders that decrease the function of the kidneys can result in hyperkalemia.
These include:
Furthermore, patients with kidney dysfunctions are
especially sensitive to medications that can increase blood potassium levels.
For example, patients with kidney dysfunctions can develop worsening
hyperkalemia when given salt
substitutes that contain potassium, when given potassium supplements (either
orally or intravenously), or medications that can increase blood potassium
levels. Examples of medications that can increase blood potassium levels include:
Next: How is hyperkalemia diagnosed? »
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- Electrolytes - Read about blood electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicorbonate) and the effects of electrolyte imbalances like kidney failure, low blood pressure, hypokalemia, and hyperkalemia.
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