risk of potassium chloride and heart health?
97976
If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking potassium chloride and seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately: \n      · an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives); \n      · confusion; \n      · an irregular heartbeat; \n      · difficulty breathing; \n      · unusual fatigue, weakness, or heavy legs; \n      · abdominal pain or severe cramping; \n      · black, bloody, or tarry stools. \n •  Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take potassium chloride and talk to your doctor if you experience \n      · nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal discomfort; \n      · a rash; \n      · slight tingling in the hands or feet; or \n      · anxiety. \n •  Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.
169449
yes, it causes.\n\nIf u take more sodium it will bring out chloride from stomache walls.\n\nSodium+Chloride= acid.\n\nso restrict your sodium daily to 10 gm
464493
Magnesium deficiency may lead to a number of pathologies, but a more direct answer would have to do with the sympathetic nervous system.  The more proximal effect of a change in the sodium-potassium pump is a partial depolarization of neurons, because of an inability to maintain the ionic gradient critical for hyperpolarization...If an increased number of sodium ions enter the neuron, then it becomes much more excitable, and will fire more frequently.  This can lead to over activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which will, among other things, cause vasoconstriction (narrowing of the arteries), increased heart rate, etc- It would be a classic stress response, and lead to high blood pressure, which in turn can cause congestive heart failure and hemorrhagic stroke.  If there is a significant malfunction of this enzyme in the central nervous system (i.e. brain and spinal cord), it would cause death.
209476
First, off... why is your potassium level low?  A normal blood range for potassium is 3.5-5.0  What is yours?  An extremely low or high potassium level is extremely serious/dangerous.\n\nNormally a low potassium is caused by diuretics (some make you excrete potassium faster than you normally would), or by vomiting/diarrhea.  I'm assuming that yours is low because of diuretics.\n\nYour doctor should have given you information on how to eat a potassium rich diet if he/she put you on such a medication.  I've attached a link to a website that breaks down the potassium levels for various foods.\n\nGood Luck!
189989
Well, it's a little more complicated than it looks.\n\nFluid retention can occur for a broad number of reasons--renal insufficiency is one, as is congestive heart failure, but there's a numbe of endocrine/metabolic things, like SIADH, that can drive it.\n\nSerum potassium can be driven down by:\n\n*Diuretics, most of which cause loss of potassium (Check Lasix and HCTZ, but exceptions would be spironolactone and triamterine and amiloride, which can cause potassium to rise)\n\n*Dilution, which involves either failure to excrete water adequately, or ingestion of massive amounts of water--I've handled both, actually\n\n*Shifts of potassium from the bloodstream into the cells; one of the commonest (although by no means the only) things that will drive that is a good sized dose of insulin dropping a high blood sugar rapidly enough; I've had to handle that mess, too\n\nThere are others, but that's a good start.
846516
Yes, it actually is that simple. Potassium bonds very well to both chloride and bicarbonate. Potassium has a +1 charge, while both chloride and bicarbonate have a -1 charge.\n\nCheck out this site for a detailed description of these three electrolytes and their effect on the body:\n\nhttp://www.medicinenet.com/electrolytes/article.htm
900646
she is s__-ing you\ntoo much potassium will cause electrolyte imbalance.. heart, kidney problems\nBut oral consumption of bananas would have to be tremendous to do any permanent damage
847781
For potassium pills you will need to see a Doctor, which is always a good idea.\n\n  Eating Bananna's helps too.  Google Potassium sometime, it will help you find all the natural sources.\n\n  But leg cramps are not Always caused by low potassium, and too much potassium can be a problem as well, so my first advice is still best.\n\n  Talk to a Doctor.
556442
Watch out!  Potassium is a very potent electrolyte.  To much potassium or too little potassium (K+) can cause your heart to beat irregularly!  It can be lethal!  You need to talk with your Dr.  They might want to have lab work drawn, you may also be throwing the other electrolytes off balance by taking too much K+. (In order to maintain the cell potential, cells must keep a low concentration of sodium ions and high levels of potassium ions within the cell (intracellular). Outside cells (extracellular), there are high concentrations of sodium and low concentrations of potassium, so diffusion occurs through ion channels in the plasma membrane. In order to keep the appropriate concentrations, the sodium-potassium pump pumps sodium out and potassium in through active transport.) Taking supllements without close monitoring can lead to trouble.  \n As a nurse potassium is dilueted for IV infusion and must be given very slowly.  \nPlease get this checked out by a professional!  It could be dangerous!
147520
People with excessive potassium, medical term as hyperkalemia, are usually asymptomatic. Some may suffer from vague non-specific symptoms, such as vague symptoms nausea,  fatigue, muscle weakness, or tingling sensations. However, it is a potentially life-threatening illness that can lead to sudden death from cardiac arrhythmias and asystole in severe cases.\n\nHowever, except in uncommon conditions (e.g. direct intravenous potassium injection, rhabdomyosis, tumor lysis of lymphoma or other malignancy after chemotherapy), normal individual with NORMAL renal function (urine is the major source for potassium excretion) very rarely become hyperkalemic due to excessive ORAL intake. However, people with renal failure is restricted to limited amount of daily potassium intake.
392893
You probably have PVCs/PACs, I've had them for a few years and I hate those @@#$@ so much. They feel like an extra beat, flip flop, or fast double beat right? I think its recommended that you be evaluated by a cardiologist to make sure you dont have any heart defects. The vast majority of cases though either just happen for no apparent reason, anxiety/stress related, potassium/calcium/magnesium imbalance in your blood, or a thyroid problem like they were saying. My doc theyre probably anxiety related too and I didn't think I'm anxious either. A lot of people say beta blockers work for them as well and my doc put me on one but it didn't do anything for me. Never tried an antidepressant/anxiety drug but some people say those have helped them, so go for it if you want. Mine seem to be triggered when I'm under stress, drink, dont get enough sleep, or drink too much caffeine. Exercise seems to reduce them for me, but everyone's triggers are different. You can check out the heart forum at medhelp.org a lot of people have them and have all kinds of weird tips and tricks you can try. I think the best thing to do if they really bother you is keep track of what triggers them and then avoid those triggers if practical.
319711
A heart attack is caused when the blood vessels of the heart can not feed the heart muscle or the the muscle is not being oxygenated.  Gatorade and Powerade I believe are low in caffeine if they have any at all.  They have electrolytes in them like Sodium and Potassium.  So if you overload or are taking a supplement of these you could get yourself in trouble.  They use Potassium Chloride in very high amounts as part of the Lethal Injection.  It stops the heart from contracting.  As far as causing a heart attack it would be very rare.  I don't think there is any factual evidence to support that these drinks can cause a heart attack.
155263
If you wanna know how hyperkalemia causes problems here it is:\nNormal serum potassium : 3.5 - 5.5 mmol/L\n\n> 5.5 mmol/L = hyperkalemia\n\nHyperkalemia = excess Sr. K i.e. excess potassium in extracellular fluid (fluid out side the cells- includess blood etc)\n\nExcess K in ECF ---> higher inward gradient ----> more K goes into the cell -----> hyperpolarises the cell ---> the cell takes longer or is not easily depolarised ----> so u get cardiac arrest, muscle paralysis, paralytic ileus, etc.
198729
You need to read this: it's serious,\npotassium:\nDefinitely avoid potassium supplements if you take drugs known as potassium-sparing diuretics (amiloride, spironolactone, triamterene), ...\n http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/0,1525,10086,00.html\n\nhttp://members.tripod.com/~charles_W/arthritis12.html
795455
a loss of potassium overly stressed, sweating, not eating enough potassium rich foods, what helps me is a apple cider vinegar tablet every morning. hope this will give you something to check into.
305739
Very little.  I have high blood pressure, very high blood pressure.  Virtually no salt is allowed.  Have to acquire a taste for other seasonings.
673276
low potassium or what is known as hypokalemia affects the body in many ways: the early signs are: weakness and muscle cramps, nausia and vomiting. But as the low potassium continues to be depleted the body will begin to paralyze muscles of the lungs and of the heart and the body will begin to have irregular heartbeats and in some cases people have had cardiac arrest (heart attack). Hypokalemia has also been known for people to stop breathing.  Potassium is one of the importaint electrolytes for heart function.  But remeber, too much potassium can also be potentially fatal.