High blood potassium is harmful.
To understand hyperkalemia, we need to understand potassium ions first. Potassium is an essential electrolyte for human body, and normal blood potassium concentration plays a very important role in maintaining cardiovascular function and other human functions. Potassium in human body comes from food, and milk, bananas, oranges and raisins are the most abundant in food.
The human body has a set of blood potassium regulation system. Excess potassium in the body is mainly excreted through the kidneys and intestines, and also enters cells with glucose under the action of insulin. Among them, the kidney plays a key role in regulating blood potassium concentration. As long as the renal function is normal, hyperkalemia will hardly occur.
According to experts, the blood potassium balance in the body is mainly regulated by the kidney. Aldosterone hormone is a hormone produced and secreted by adrenal gland, which can regulate and control renal sodium retention and potassium excretion according to the potassium level in vivo, so as to keep the blood potassium level stable. With the loss of renal function, the ability of kidney to regulate potassium decreases, and potassium cannot be excreted in time.
It is understood that nearly 40% of patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease died of arrhythmia or cardiac arrest, while the all-cause mortality of patients with hyperkalemia is 26 times that of normal people, and the mortality rate of patients with severe hyperkalemia is as high as 30%.
What about high blood potassium?
At present, there are many treatment methods for hyperkalemia, and different treatment methods can be adopted according to different treatment needs of patients. According to experts, in clinic, if the patient's blood potassium is particularly high, calcium can be quickly given to the patient intravenously to counter the side effects of potassium on the myocardium, thus preventing the patient from arrhythmia or even cardiac arrest. However, calcium can not directly reduce the blood potassium level, and can not be used as daily as glucose and insulin.
Secondly, the use of diuretics. If the patient's renal function is good, diuretics can be used to excrete potassium through urine. When potassium is excreted, the blood potassium level will gradually decrease.
In addition, intravenous infusion of glucose and insulin can temporarily reduce the blood potassium level by transferring potassium ions from extracellular to intracellular.
However, experts say that intravenous preparations (such as insulin), diuretics, traditional potassium-lowering resins and dialysis can temporarily reduce patients' blood potassium levels, but they cannot remain stable for a long time. Because chronic hyperkalemia is easy to recur, how to balance rapid potassium reduction and long-term stable potassium control has become the focus of clinical treatment.
With the development of the subject, oral hypokalemic drugs appeared, which provided a good means for the long-term regular and stable prevention and treatment of hyperkalemia. According to experts, oral potassium-lowering drugs can reduce hemodialysis caused by intractable high potassium, improve the quality of life of patients and save medical expenses.
However, experts warn that oral potassium lowering drugs are not suitable for all patients. For people with low blood potassium, it can be controlled by diet. However, for those patients with hyperkalemia or chronic hyperkalemia, besides routine diet control, drug intervention is also needed to keep the blood potassium level in a suitable range.