SERUM POTASSIUM – ON THE LEVEL?
Your serum potassium – is it on the level? This is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of Health.
Except in certain disease states, the average person gets plenty of potassium in a normal diet. But that is not to minimize potassium’s importance in the body. This intracellular action plays a crucial role in making many chemical reactions go.
For example, potassium affects our muscles. When potassium is depleted, skeletal muscles can become weak, sometimes even paralyzed. Potassium affects heart muscle too: when the blood level of potassium varies much from its normally narrow range, the electrical activity of the heart can quickly go on the blink, with cardiac arrest a potential complication.
Potassium is intimately linked to the kidney too. The kidney, in fact, is a chief regulator of the body’s potassium stores. When the kidneys fail, the potassium balance can change drastically. The flip side is true too; when potassium levels fall for other reasons the kidneys can be damaged. Vomiting and diarrhea can cause significant potassium losses.
And when potassium levels remain too low the body’s ph can change for the worse.
Fortunately, the body is able to automatically to maintain potassium levels within crucial, narrow limits. That’s why measuring potassium in disease states is routine, and why potassium supplements should be taken only under professional supervision. Speaking of Health, I’m Dr. Steven Andrew Davis for CBS News.
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