Potassium in the blood: normal by age (table), reasons for increase and decrease

How does a lack of potassium manifest itself in the body?

Potassium is one of the elements necessary for the body. Its main carrier is water, and since the body is composed primarily of water, it is obvious that potassium must be everywhere. It performs many functions in the body. Stimulates insulin secretion, promotes the burning of proteins and carbohydrates. He is very needed. Its deficiency can be very unfavorable for the body, so it is worth knowing how to recognize this condition and, of course, how to counteract it. Be sure to read the helpful tips in this article.

Symptoms

Symptoms of potassium deficiency can vary. Pay special attention to your stomach. If it fails and flattens, then this is the effect of the so-called “frog belly”. This may be due to weakness of the abdominal muscles, as well as the stomach and intestines. This disease is also accompanied by problems with metabolism and constipation. You should be aware that high blood pressure can also be a sign of hypokalemia, but not only that. If you are suffering from swollen legs and arms, you need to get tested and take some action to replenish the potassium deficiency, if any. If you find that your heart is beating irregularly, it's time to see a doctor and have your blood potassium levels checked. I'm not kidding.

Hypokalemia

Hypokalemia develops due to

1. reducing potassium intake from food,
2. its movement into cells or
3. enhanced excretion.

A decrease in potassium intake is rarely the only cause of hypokalemia, since due to reabsorption in the distal nephron, urinary potassium excretion can decrease to 15 mmol/day; the amount of potassium entering the body with food in most cases exceeds this value. The exceptions are citizens with a low standard of living and people on special diets.

However, insufficient potassium intake may aggravate hypokalemia caused by potassium losses through the gastrointestinal tract or kidneys.

One of the rare causes of hypokalemia is eating clay (geophagy), since it binds potassium and iron ions. Geophagy was formerly widespread among blacks in the southern United States.

The movement of potassium into cells reduces plasma potassium concentrations temporarily without affecting total body potassium levels. Regardless of the reason for the movement of potassium into cells, the change in its concentration is normally relatively small - no more than 1 mmol/l. However, like insufficient dietary potassium intake, potassium translocation into cells may exacerbate hypokalemia due to potassium wasting.

Hypokalemia is caused by metabolic alkalosis (due to potassium redistribution and losses through the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract), hyperglycemia (due to osmotic diuresis), administration of large doses of insulin during diabetic ketoacidosis (as a result of stimulation of Na+/H+ countertransport and mediated activation of Na+,K±ATPase), increased levels of catecholamines, the appointment of beta2-agonists (due to the movement of potassium into the cells and increased insulin secretion), the growth of new cells (for example, when prescribing vitamin B12 for Addison-Beermer disease or GM-CSF for neutropenia), transfusion of thawed and washed red blood cells (since frozen red blood cells lose up to half of their potassium during storage).

Hypokalemia is also seen in familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis, a rare condition that causes attacks of muscle weakness or paralysis.

Sweating leads to hypokalemia, both directly and through hypovolemia-induced increases in aldosterone and potassium excretion.

Normally, with a stool volume of 100-200 ml, potassium loss with it is 5-10 mmol/day.

Hypokalemia due to potassium loss through the gastrointestinal tract occurs with villous polyp, VIPoma, diarrhea (usually secretory) and laxative abuse. Loss of gastric contents during vomiting and aspiration through a nasogastric tube are not in themselves the causes of hypokalemia (the potassium concentration in gastric juice is 5-10 mmol/l, and for a deficiency of 300-400 mmol, which is usually observed in such patients, it would be required volume losses of 30-80 l). In such cases, hypovolemia and metabolic alkalosis lead to hypokalemia. Hypovolemia stimulates aldosterone secretion, and metabolic alkalosis leads to bicarbonaturia and increased negative fluid charge in the collecting ducts (filtered bicarbonate cannot be completely reabsorbed in the proximal tubules). Both of these mechanisms increase urinary potassium excretion.

What does a lack of potassium in the body lead to?

Even with minor deviations from the norm of potassium in the body, the consequences can be sad:

• diabetes mellitus due to depletion of the insulin apparatus;
• hypokalemia, causing severe arrhythmia, myalgia, increased muscle tone;
• glycoside intoxication, provoked by a large volume of cardiac glycosides, poorly processed by the kidneys;
• violation of acid-base balance;
• pathological changes in the myocardium up to sudden cardiac arrest and coronary death.

Why is hypokalemia dangerous?

The greater the K+ deficiency, the more intense the symptoms. All the manifested signs themselves indicate what consequences hypokalemia can lead to.

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Even small deviations from the potassium concentration if the deficiency is not replenished in a timely manner can lead to such complications

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If irritation, redness or itching is detected in the groin, a woman should consult a specialist. If women have itching in the groin, the reasons for this can be very different. Read more in the article: “What are the reasons for itching in the groin in women?”

• severe forms of arrhythmia, myalgia;
• the likelihood of diabetes mellitus increases;
• there is a risk of poisoning the body with glycosides (if medications containing them were prescribed);
• a noticeable acid-base imbalance occurs;
• in the most severe cases, hypokalemia, along with other factors, creates a predisposition to sudden coronary death.

In order not to provoke such complications, it is important to start treatment in a timely manner.

Therapy for hypokalemia

consists of two directions: drug treatment and adding potassium-rich foods to the diet.

Diagnostic tests

Potassium deficiency (the lack of a sufficient amount of a microelement in the body of women is determined during medical examinations) is determined by doctors by prescribing diagnostic tests. They are as follows:

• take blood for potassium levels;
• determine the release of trace elements in urine;
• an electrocardiogram is taken to detect heart rhythm disturbances;
• check the mineral composition of the hair.

No special preparation is required for the potassium test. Only a few recommendations need to be followed: the day before the analysis, fatty, spicy, and pickled foods should be excluded from the diet. It is also necessary to avoid fried foods; before the examination, you should not drink alcohol for 10 days, take medications, or do x-rays and physical examinations; If your health condition requires eating (diabetic disease), you should consult your doctor.

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A blood test is performed early in the morning. Since its composition changes throughout the day.

The collection is carried out from a vein on an empty stomach. But they are allowed to drink water. In the laboratory, analysis is done using the titration method, or an automatic analyzer is used. For a healthy person, the normal amount of the element in the blood is from 3.5 to 5.1 mmol/liter. If the substance is less than 3.05 mmol / liter, then there is a violation of the kidneys. This condition is called hypokalemia. Its manifestations:

• nausea, vomiting;

• muscle weakness;
• difficulty breathing;
• involuntary release of urine and feces.

A sharp increase in potassium content - up to 7.15 mmol / liter. An increase in a microelement in the body indicates a large loss of fluid. This is called hyperkalemia.

Prevention

Preventive measures boil down to:

• A balanced diet with a sufficient amount of potassium-containing products without violating the rules of heat treatment.
• Eliminating low-calorie diets and giving up bad habits.
• Sleep/wake optimization.
• Limiting mental and nervous overload.
• Replacing (if possible) diuretics and other medications that help remove potassium from the body. If it is impossible to replace them, it is necessary to regularly undergo laboratory testing to determine the concentration of potassium in the serum.
• Limiting table salt consumption.
• Periodic use for the preventive correction of hypokalemia Panangin (1 tablet 3 times a day) for 3 weeks.

Treatment of hyperkalemia

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Patients are subject to hospitalization for treatment in a hospital, and in case of life-threatening hyperkalemia - in the intensive care unit. The first condition for successful treatment is the abolition of all medications that can lead to hyperkalemia (potassium-sparing diuretics, ACE inhibitors, NSAIDs, etc.), and cessation of the administration of potassium salts. If you have respiratory failure, you may need to be connected to a ventilator. Specific treatment of hyperkalemia involves several areas:

1. Stabilization of cardiomyocyte membranes
   . In case of high life-threatening hyperkalemia, calcium salts are administered intravenously to treat and prevent severe cardiac arrhythmias, which have an antagonistic effect on potassium and improve myocardial contractile function. It is preferable to use calcium gluconate, since calcium chloride, when it enters the subcutaneous tissue or muscle tissue, causes their necrosis.

2. Movement of potassium into cells
   . For this purpose, the administration of insulin with glucose and beta-adrenergic receptor agonists (salbutamol) is used. For the same purpose, metabolic acidosis is corrected by introducing sodium bicarbonate (soda solution).
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3. Accelerated potassium excretion
   . Loop diuretics (furosemide) are very effective in stimulating the excretion of potassium ions in the urine. To remove potassium through the intestines, enterosorbents and cation exchange resins (sodium polystyrene sulfonate) are prescribed. When hyperkalemia develops against the background of adrenal insufficiency, hormonal drugs (fludrocortisone, hydrocortisone) are necessarily used for treatment.

4. Hemodialysis
   . This is an emergency way to remove potassium from the body. Such treatment is resorted to either when the above measures are ineffective, or immediately when the potassium concentration is very high. It is preferable to use a bicarbonate-buffered dialysate solution.

Nutrition for hypokalemia

An important component of therapy for memory loss is proper nutrition. It is important for a woman to consume the required amount of K+ with food - this way the macronutrient will be better absorbed and ensure quality recovery.

The most potassium is found in the following foods:

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• meat;
• bananas;
• buckwheat, barley and oatmeal porridge;
• mushrooms;
• melons: watermelons, pumpkins, melons;
• cabbage: Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, sea cabbage, cauliflower;
• nuts, dried fruits and candied fruits;
• most fruits and vegetables.

The list of foods high in K+ is quite wide, so the chosen diet can be completely balanced and at the same time varied.

Causes of potassium deficiency in the body

Potassium deficiency can be caused by one or several specific circumstances:

• abuse of diuretic laxatives, glucocorticosteroids, hormonal drugs, preservatives with a high sodium content;
• hormonal imbalance, treatment for which provoked excessive excretion of macronutrients in the urine due to frequent urination;
• increased stress, which led to the leaching of a significant dose of potassium against the background of increased sweating;
• pregnancy, lactation period in women, when the need for potassium intake should be increased;
• lack of foods with potassium in the diet, when hypokalemia may occur due to an unbalanced diet;
• frequent vomiting, prolonged watery diarrhea.

In case of health problems, signs of potassium deficiency in the body of women are observed if strict diets are used to correct weight or in people who abuse laxatives, diuretics, and hormonal medications. A serum macronutrient level below 2 mmol/l can create a critical situation for patients.