Hyperkalemia Causes & Symptoms
When performing high-intensity activities, the body tends to lose water fast, causing dehydration. Dehydration is when your body is losing more fluids than it’s consuming, and in this case, potassium absorption becomes difficult. If the lacks adequate levels of fluids, it becomes difficult to process this nutrient, so it tends to accumulate in the blood, which can lead to hyperkalemia.
Other causes of hyperkalemia include chronic kidney disease, severe diabetes, dehydration, excess bleeding, and eating too much dietary potassium.
Patients suffering from hyperkalemia tend to suffer the following symptoms [3]:
- Abdominal or stomach pain and frequent stooling
- Chest pain or angina
- Irregular, fast, or fluttering heartbeats, also known as arrhythmia.
- Sore muscles and weakness or numbness in fingers and toes.
- Nausea and vomiting.
It is best to visit your doctor if you start to experience one or more of these symptoms. There are a few ways to correct high potassium levels and help maintain them in the normal range. Following a low-potassium diet is the first step to correct this situation and improve symptoms. Consumption of salt substitutes can significantly increase your potassium levels and put you at risk of health complications. Stop taking potassium supplements and other herbal remedies to meet up with the recommended daily intake as it can worsen your symptoms.