Can low potassium levels be harmful to your heart?
Is a proper diet sufficient to raise the potassium level or should medication be introduced? ~ Krystyna 47 years old
Too low levels of potassium in the blood, the so-called hypokalaemia may cause new or worsening of previously unprecedented, sometimes life-threatening, arrhythmias. It is imperative to establish the cause of the low blood potassium levels. Most often, hypokalemia is caused by the use of drugs (usually diuretics), various diseases of the endocrine organs (hormonally active tumors of the adrenal glands), diseases of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, very rarely dietary deficiencies. It is difficult to compensate for the increased hypokalemia by consuming more vegetables and fruits, even though they are a source of potassium ions. It must be remembered that an excess of table salt (sodium chloride) in the diet promotes the loss of potassium ions by the kidneys. For this reason, it is not advisable to compensate for the deficiency of potassium in the blood with tomato juice containing table salt.
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