Potassium is one of the many vital nutrients that our bodies need to function at their best. It is involved in muscle movement throughout the body, including the muscles located in both our heart and lungs. A lack of potassium could result in slower heartbeats and even difficulty breathing.
Every individual requires a different amount of potassium; however, there is such a thing as having too much. Typically, excess potassium is removed through the excretory system in the form of urine. If the kidneys are damaged, they may not be able to effectively remove excess potassium from the bloodstream, leading to the condition known as high potassium. Anyone diagnosed with high potassium should get it checked out as it could be a sign of an underlying problem.
What Causes High Potassium?
High potassium can be directly linked to a damaged kidney, meaning that conditions such as kidney disease or failure may cause high potassium. An individual with kidney failure does not have a functioning kidney. This condition typically occurs while a patient is hospitalized and can be reversed depending on the severity. On the other hand, kidney disease is a chronic condition and greatly increases your risk for developing hyperkalemia.
Another factor that has been found to be directly linked to high potassium is high blood pressure medication. High blood pressure can cause a patient to develop kidney disease with hyperkalemia as a complication. It is common for doctors to recommend that patients with high blood pressure undergo frequent potassium testing to stabilize and monitor potassium levels.
When prescribing medication for high blood pressure, a doctor might prescribe medication that flushes water and sodium from the body to stabilize blood pressure. Using these pills frequently can cause the body to become dehydrated as too much fluid becomes lost. This can also cause potassium to build up in the body as there are no fluids to aid the kidney in excess potassium removal.
What Does it Mean if You Have High Potassium?
If you have been diagnosed with high potassium, you must be wondering how this impacts your personal life. The first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with your doctor to evaluate the health of your kidneys. After an evaluation, you should be notified of any preexisting health conditions that may have caused your high potassium levels. It is very important to discuss treatment options for those conditions and to consider alternative options if treatment options are limited.
Alternative options often include lifestyle changes because an excessive intake of potassium-rich foods can cause sometimes high potassium. If you have not been diagnosed with high potassium, a few symptoms to look out for are fatigue, chest pain, numbness, tingling, difficult breathing, and heart palpitations. It is also important to note that muscle tenderness or pain may be associated with high potassium.
If you experience any of these symptoms and have previously been diagnosed with a kidney disorder, be sure to mention these concerns to your physician.
What Can be Done to Help with High Potassium?
When selecting treatment for high potassium, you can either opt for medical treatment or home remedies. Medical treatment typically consists of hemodialysis and medications, both of which are highly effective.
Hemodialysis is a procedure that removes waste and excess nutrients from your bloodstream through filtration. Once the unhealthy blood is removed from your body, it will enter a machine where it is filtered and then sent back into the body.
Home remedies can be just as effective as medical treatment in certain ways. You can reduce your potassium levels by limiting your intake of potassium-rich foods, including potatoes, apricots, bananas, beans, beef, and milk. For diet changes, you can also purchase a salt substitute, as regular salts have high potassium concentrations.
Drinking water can benefit your body in a number of ways. In addition to reversing any effects of diuretics, water can assist your kidneys in removing excess potassium from the body. Note that once you have incorporated these changes into your diet, it is important to commit to them. Doing so will result in a drastic decrease of your potassium levels and reduce the development of unwanted symptoms.