Potassium Deficiency Diseases

Potassium is a valuable electrolyte, which has numerous benefits for the human body. But its deficiency or lack, can have serious health complications, and causes a number of harmful diseases. In this article, we look at some potassium deficiency diseases, and their effects on health, as well as which groups of society are at risk of this deficiency.

Diseases caused by Potassium Deficiency

The effects of low potassium can be understood by understanding the diseases that can occur, listed below.

Cardiac Arrhythmias: This condition is also known as dysrhythmia or simply arrhythmias. It denotes abnormal heart activity. The heart rate may be slow or fast or irregular. But this sort of activity can have a wide range of consequences. If the heartbeat is too fast or slow, pressure drops and a person will feel dizzy and faint. Sometimes, it can even cause a heart attack or sudden death. This condition is a direct result of potassium deficiency.

Gitelman's Syndrome: This syndrome is one of the rarer potassium deficiency diseases, that affects the kidneys. The kidneys pass sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride, into the urine and flush these nutrients out of the body, rather than absorbing them into the bloodstream. It is normally seen in bigger children.

Rhabdomyolysis: In this disease, the skeletal muscle tissue breaks down rapidly and the products of the cells are released into the bloodstream. One of the products, a protein called myoglobin, is very harmful to the kidney, and can lead to kidney dysfunction. Rhabdomyolysis is one of the most harmful diseases, caused by potassium deficiency.

Hyporeflexia: When the nerves are sluggish or absent in response activity, the condition is called hyporeflexia. It is tested by hitting the patient in a tendon, with a reflex hammer.

Bartter's Syndrome: It is a set of closely related disorders, that are similar in symptoms to the Gitelman's Syndrome. A mutation in the kidney tubules affect the sodium content in the kidneys. Too much sodium is lost, so the kidneys start to remove potassium. This syndrome is common in young children, and is a characteristic of low potassium content.

Renal Tubular Acidosis: This another kidney disorder caused by the effects of potassium deficiency. Here, the kidneys do not secrete acid into urine, so the acid accumulates in the blood.

Cushing's Syndrome: A disorder caused by a increase in content of a steroid hormone, called cortisol. Because it results in hormonal imbalance, the physicality of the person is affected, and tumor growth on the lungs, thyroid and pancreas occurs.

Conn's Syndrome: A benign tumor on the outer section of the adrenal gland, causes this syndrome. The tumor then secretes a hormone, aldosterone, with no control, and the kidneys excrete potassium.

Hypokalemia: Very low potassium levels create the disease called hypokalemia. This disease has the symptoms of increase in blood pressure, muscular weakness and cramps, constipation, fatigue, and respiratory problems.

Flaccid Paralysis: Weakness or paralysis in the muscles and loss of muscle tone, without any external causes like trauma.

Congestive Heart Failure: This is the inability of the heart to supply enough blood to all parts of the body. It is a result of cardiac arrhythmias, and can lead to cardiac arrest, lung paralysis and high blood pressure.

Diabetic Complications: Low potassium levels have serious effects on both diabetics and non diabetics. Less potassium can lead to glucose intolerance, as the release of insulin is hampered, and this can lead to diabetes. With diabetics, their blood sugar levels can increase even more, if potassium content is insufficient.

Potassium is known to reduce risk of the following conditions:

• Stroke
• Osteoporosis
• Infertility
• High blood pressure
• Skin lesions and fractures
• Rheumatism
• Chronic fatigue
• Kidney stones

Potassium Deficiency Risk

People who are more susceptible to a deficiency of potassium fall under the following groups:

• Those taking diuretics
• Prolonged fasting and extreme dieters
• People suffering from diabetes, kidney and heart diseases
• Alcoholics
• People with chronic vomiting or diarrhea
• People following high sodium diets
• Those with low fruit and vegetable intake
• Senior citizens
• Those who use excessive laxatives

The recommended range of potassium for an adult falls between 3.5 and 5.0 mmol/L (millimoles per liter fluid). Due to potassium's importance in bone structure and bodily functions, children should have higher potassium levels, especially newborns. Try to avoid taking supplements, and instead incorporate more natural sources of potassium into your diet. Meats, fish, soy products and fruits are good sources of potassium. It takes a list of diseases, to understand the role of this tiny, little electrolyte in human health.