: Low potassium in blood A blood test revealed low potassium. What is the dangerous effect of low potassium in the blood? Is medication necessary for this condition? Thank you for your wisdom.

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Low potassium is on average below 3.5 and is termed hypokalemia. Signs and symptoms:

Weakness Fatigue Muscle cramps Constipation

Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) are the most worrisome
complication of very low potassium levels, particularly in people with
underlying heart disease.

Severely low potassium can result in death.

Ncbi

Medication, surgery and diet can be used to treat hypokalemia. However. Medications are not always use s to treat unless you consider potassium supplement. Treatment depends on cause, as well.

Medications

Usually, oral potassium chloride is administered when potassium levels
need to be replenished, as well as, in patients with ongoing potassium
loss (eg, those on thiazide diuretics), when it must be maintained.
Potassium-sparing diuretics are generally used only in patients with
normal renal function who are prone to significant hypokalemia.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which inhibit renal
potassium excretion, can ameliorate some of the hypokalemia that
thiazide and loop diuretics can cause. However, ACE inhibitors can
lead to lethal hyperkalemia in patients with renal insufficiency who
are taking potassium supplements or potassium-sparing diuretics.

Surgical care

Generally, hypokalemia is a medical, not a surgical, condition.
Surgical intervention is required only with certain etiologies, such
as the following:

Renal artery stenosis Adrenal adenoma Intestinal obstruction producing
massive vomiting Villous adenoma Decreasing Potassium Losses Measures
to identify and stop ongoing losses of potassium include the
following:

Discontinue diuretics/laxatives Use potassium-sparing diuretics if
diuretic therapy is required (eg, severe heart failure) Treat diarrhea
or vomiting Administer H2 blockers to patients receiving nasogastric
suction Control hyperglycemia if glycosuria is present

Because of the risk associated with potassium replacement, alleviation
of the cause of hypokalemia may be preferable to treatment, especially
if hypokalemia is mild, asymptomatic, or transient and is likely to
resolve without treatment. For example, patients with vomiting who are
successfully treated with antiemetics may not require potassium
replacement.

Replenishment of Potassium Replenishment of potassium is the second
treatment step. For every 1 mEq/L decrease in serum potassium, the
potassium deficit is approximately 200-400 mEq.

Bear in mind, however, that many factors in addition to the total body
potassium stores contribute to the serum potassium concentration.
Therefore, this calculation could either overestimate or underestimate
the true potassium deficit. For example, do not overcorrect potassium
in patients with periodic hypokalemic paralysis. This condition is
caused by transcellular maldistribution, not by a true deficit.

Patients who have mild or moderate hypokalemia (potassium level of
2.5-3.5 mEq/L) are usually asymptomatic; if these patients have only minor symptoms, they may need only oral potassium replacement therapy.
If cardiac arrhythmias or significant symptoms are present, then more
aggressive therapy is warranted. This treatment is similar to the
treatment of severe hypokalemia.

If the potassium level is less than 2.5 mEq/L, intravenous potassium
should be given. Maintain close follow-up care, provide continuous ECG
monitoring, and check serial potassium levels.

Higher dosages may increase the risk of cardiac complications. Many
institutions have policies that limit the maximum amount of potassium
that can be given per hour. Hospital admission or observation in the
emergency department is indicated; replacement therapy takes more than
a few hours.

The serum potassium level is difficult to replenish if the serum
magnesium level is also low. Look to replace both.

Oral potassium is absorbed readily, and relatively large doses can be
given safely. Oral administration is limited by patient tolerance
because some individuals develop nausea or even gastrointestinal
ulceration with enteral potassium formulations.

Intravenous potassium, which is less well tolerated because it can be
highly irritating to veins, can be given only in relatively small
doses, generally 10 mEq/h. Under close cardiac supervision in emergent
circumstances, as much as 40 mEq/h can be administered through a
central line. Oral and parenteral potassium can safely be used
simultaneously.

Take ongoing potassium losses into consideration by measuring the
volume and potassium concentration of body fluid losses. If the
patient is severely hypokalemic, avoid glucose-containing parenteral
fluids to prevent an insulin-induced shift of potassium into the
cells. If the patient is acidotic, correct the potassium first to
prevent an alkali-induced shift of potassium into the cells.

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Low potassium in blood is a condition called hypokalemia. Your doctor can possibly recommend you potassium intake.

The Wikipedia article about it is fairly well documented.