Potassium - A Double-Edged Sword

How many times has potassium killed without being named? It could be very many. You usually hear of low potassium and so many people without thinking they could be committing suicide with high potassium start stuffing in those bananas and anything high in potassium without a thought! Extremely high levels of potassium in the blood (severe hyperkalemia) can lead to heart attack and death. High potassium can cause hyperkalemia and when not recognized and treated properly, severe hyperkalemia can result in a mortality rate of about 67%! High potassium kills.

Not once in all these years did I hear of high potassium being a danger. I only had blood work done once or twice a year, and no one ever called me on it except about my cholesterol high once so I took care of that. I always try natural and generally it does work. If someone does not tell you anything though, how can you know?

I have had a horrible past few years trying to get my blood pressure under control and even though I had an allergic reaction to the main blood pressure medicine I am now on, I was able to take it going off all and taking this in half doses twice a day.

Still it was not low enough and I was sent to a heart specialist who put me on a medicine that was a little scarier than most but I only took half the dosage until I saw how it would affect me. It went pretty low although there were just some times it went up again and never to the highs I had been looking at for years.

At the pharmacy one day I asked the pharmacist if I could take something over the counter and showed her the two medicines I was taking and she said that would be fine, she would be more concerned with the two blood pressure medicines I was taking together. That was a little scary and my first hint I had anything to worry about.

I knew I couldn’t go confront this heart specialist with this because for one thing doctors do not like pharmacists giving us advice or telling us anything for that matter. I had another heart specialist almost have a fit when he asked me did I think pharmacist knew more about medicines than a doctor and I said yes. He often tried to get me to say different but I would not do it because I know these people only study medicine and know their stuff. I also know little salesmen run in and out of doctor’s offices with their medicines and something is happening here that I think equals lobbying.

So when I saw my heart specialist again I asked him about the new medicine and he said well the main danger of this new medicine was running your potassium high and that my blood work from my regular doctor showed my potassium to be very low so it seemed safe to try. Now wouldn’t it have been nice if he had mentioned a diet to me then and wouldn’t it have been nice if someone had told me even months ago my potassium was low?

I asked them about this at my regular doctors office and that last blood work had been done close to a year ago! Of course in the mean time the heart specialist had decided to check it I suppose with me questioning and it was in the middle of acceptable numbers. I am assuming though because he saw my potassium was so low before this that I would be a good candidate to try this medicine that was not a necessary popular one but it may be the only one to save my life. I need to keep my potassium low now and I also need to keep it checked. No doctor told me this; I had to figure it out on my own. I could have had a stroke and died and do you think the word potassium would have ever been said? Of course not.

The normal blood potassium reading should be between 3.7 to 5.2 milliequivalents. Levels above 6 milliequivalents and those below 3 milliequivalents are said to be dangerous. People though suffering from chronic kidney disease will not be able to excrete excess potassium from the body due to the malfunction of the kidney; resulting in excess levels of blood potassium leading to a condition known as hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia means an abnormally elevated level of potassium in the blood. Danger of developing hyperkalemia can be greatly reduced by being on a low potassium diet. I came to this conclusion and plan on my own and I should not have had to.

Massive tissue destruction can result in elevated levels of blood potassium as the damaged cells release potassium; trauma,burns, surgical procedures, destruction of tumor cells or red blood cells, and diabetic ketoacidosis can cause this release, among other things. Symptoms of hyperkalemia are nausea, fatigue, muscle weakness and tingling sensation.

Symptoms of hyperkalemia are not easy to recognize until the potassium level in blood rises to very high levels. At higher levels there is the possibility of dangerous complications developing leading to irregular heart rhythm, severe weakness of the muscles and even paralysis; and can be very dangerous.

My guess would be most people suffer from potassium being too low but you should find out about medicines that not only rob you of potassium but those that may kill you causing it to raise too high. There is not a lot known about this and I would guess many deaths could have very easily been caused by this with no one ever the wiser.

Whole grain breads and other products helping in the risk of heart disease are not for the ones in danger of high potassium. Whole grain products have more potassium than refined grains like white flour. High amounts of potassium can considerably increase the risk of life threatening complications. What you think you are doing best for your health could kill you!

Get to know your blood reading in all things and what you should do about it. Blood should be checked no less than every twelve weeks when this is in question and the cardiologist thinks if the readings are good that is often enough. Of course if they aren’t then you need to be discussing that with your doctor. Probably you don’t want to go very long and you want to give immediate attention to raise or lower potassium, whichever you need. Call and check on all blood works if there is a special concern or you are having health problems or unusual symptoms. It is your body, the blood tests are not free and a good doctor should always go over tests with each patient.

If you have high or low; make a list of the foods you personally need and keep on your fridge until you are pretty sure you have it down pat; the foods to help you that will probably not change unless you change medications.

This is a further needed step in the values of what we consume. Perhaps a little known life-saving step. I will follow this article with the foods you need and diet to help keep your life safe. It has not been an easy research but I think finally I can feel good about getting on a diet to keep my potassium from causing a heart attack. I will have foods for both high and low. Be sure to check it out if you have either problem. Please make sure you have neither problem.