Potassium Deficiency: Effects of Low Potassium

Potassium is a mineral that helps us feel and be healthy every day. While most of the potassium in our body is found within the body cells, very small quantity, approximately 2-3 percent of the total potassium content in the body, of this mineral is found outside the cells. Potassium is required by our body for smooth muscular and cellular functioning, cardiovascular functioning, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, for the conversion of glucose into glycogen and muscle building, etc.

It is called 'natural diuretic' as it easily gets absorbed by our body and almost 85-90 percent of it is excreted from our bowels and kidneys (urine). Because of its alkaline property, it is a very important mineral which helps our body system maintain pH levels and also to maintain proper level of water inside the body. The most important functions of potassium in the human body are to keep blood pressure under control and help in intracellular nutrient transfer. It also helps in keeping acne, various allergies, fatigue, kidney stones, etc., at bay.

Potassium is necessary to monitor and regulate aldosterone hormone found in human body. It also plays the important role of a catalyst for many types of enzymes inside the human body, in other words; it helps in spawning many important chemical reactions inside the human body. It is also believed to help in improving ATP hydrolysis. With so many important body functions to its credit, potassium is no doubt important for our overall health, such that if it is not present in sufficient amount it can hamper these body functions and result in adverse effects on our health.

What is Potassium Deficiency (Hypokalemia)?
A medical condition in which our body fails to retain the amount of potassium required for its day-to-day functioning is called potassium deficiency or hypokalemia. This deficiency of potassium in body can be fatal considering it has a crucial role to play in various body functions - all of which are bound to be affected by the lack of this mineral in the body. While blood potassium level in the range of 3.6 to 5.2 mmol/L (millimoles per liter) is considered normal, potassium level below 2.5 mmol/L is considered low and requires prompt medical attention.

What are the Causes of Hypokalemia?
A person is most likely to suffer from potassium deficiency due to excessive excretion of potassium or due to low potassium intake - both of which, in turn, are attributed to various factors coming into play. Most prominent causes of potassium deficiency in people are:

• Lack of potassium rich foods in the daily diet, i.e. insufficient potassium consumption.
• Excess potassium excretion through bowel motions or urine.
• Losing potassium as a result of vomiting, diarrhea or excessive sweating.
• Use of medication which can interfere and bring down the potassium levels in the body.
• Excessive use of diuretics and laxatives.
• Health problems such as diabetic ketoacidosis or chronic kidney failure.
• Hereditary defects of renal salt transporters, such as the Gitelman syndrome and the Bartter syndrome

Low Potassium Effects on the Body
The effects of hypokalemia on the body range from very mild to severe. While a person suffering from simple/harmless/primary-staged hypokalemia may not experiencing anything unusual with the functioning of various organs initially, its effects are bound to get obvious with the severity of the condition. You will get to see the effects of low potassium levels in the body in form of following symptoms:

• Myalgia (muscle pain), muscular weakness and cramps.
• Cardiac arrhythmia i.e. abnormal rate of muscle contractions in the heart.
• Unexplained fatigue and weakness
• Hyponatremia, which may or may not be accompanied by anxiety.
• Impairs nerve transmission and deteriorated nervous system, which, in turn, results in confusion and delirium.
• Skin related problems such as blistering, skin eruptions, dryness of skin, acne, etc.
• Temporary memory loss or other problems like weak memory, difficulty in concentration, etc.
• Sleeplessness and irritability
• Intestinal or lung paralysis
• Heart related problems, such as heart deterioration.
• Increase the risk of high blood pressure
• Ringing noise in the ear at times

Digestive system may also get affected due to potassium deficiency, thus leading to hypertension, chronic sleeplessness, depression, constipation, headache, etc. Critically low levels of potassium are known to result in life-threatening conditions such as cardiac arrhythmia, and that makes it all the more important to keep an eye for the potassium level in the body.

Treatments Available for Hypokalemia
The treatment of Hypokalemia usually revolves around the treatment of its symptoms. If a person is suffering from diarrhea or constipation, then he/she is treated for the underlying problem so as to stop/regulate potassium loss from his/her body. At the same time, the physician may also prescribe medication to improve potassium levels in the body. The patient is generally asked to take balanced diet for days in order to restore the physical health pertaining to potassium level and its role in metabolism. Basically, the physician will spell out the treatment plan to be followed only after taking the severity of the problem into consideration.

Prevention is better than cure, and a balanced diet is the key to prevent hypokalemia. You should include foods high in potassium, such as orange, banana, potato, tomato, watermelon, beans, some type of cereals, dried fruits such as peaches, dates, apricots, raisins etc., meat, grapes, milk, yogurt, spinach, etc., in your daily diet to strike that much-needed balance in your meal. While potassium supplements are looked upon as the ideal tools to tackle potassium deficiency, you should only resort to such supplements after consulting your physician.