Have you ever woken up with a random leg cramp, or felt completely drained after a small stomach bug?
It’s quite easy to brush these signs off as being tired, but sometimes, it can be your body trying to tell you something serious. It might be low on potassium, which is often an important mineral for your body to function properly.
Potassium is important to fuel the body and the muscles and the heart to work properly. Doctors refer to low potassium levels as ‘hypokalemia.’
In this blog, we’ll look at the warning signs of low potassium, what can cause it, and how a doctor can check it.
What is Potassium?
Potassium is a simple electrolyte that works with sodium to keep your bodily fluids balanced and help nerve signals to reach muscles.
Normal potassium levels in the blood usually need to be between 3.5 and 5.2 milliequivalents per litre (mEq/L). A reading below 3.5 mEq/L is what doctors consider a low potassium level, and if it is anywhere below 3.0 mEq/L, it indicates severe hypokalemia.
If the body has mild dips, these do not cause any symptoms. But if the levels are under 3.0 mEq/L, it can indicate trouble for older adults and people who already have some kind of heart or kidney disease.
What Are Some Low Potassium Symptoms?
Signs of low potassium depend on how much the level has dropped. In cases where the potassium levels are between 3.0 and 3.5 mEq/L, the symptoms usually go unnoticed unless a person is elderly or already living with a serious illness like chronic kidney disease or heart failure.
Any visible low potassium symptoms only tend to appear once the level slips below 3.0 mEq/L. Dr. Bhuwania explains the common symptoms of hypokalemia as:
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- Muscle and nerve signs: This can include cramps and weakness, which is often felt mostly in the legs, and can progress into a paralysis-like state.
- Digestive signs: This can include constipation, bloating, nausea, and vomiting.
- General fatigue and aching muscles.
- Heart signs: This can be low blood pressure and palpitations from irregular heartbeats, also medically known as “arrhythmias”.
- Breathing signs: This can include weak breathing muscles, and in some severe cases it can cause respiratory failure.
Potassium deficiency symptoms rarely arrive all at once. Many people notice one or two mild signs first, and then as the level drops more, other severe symptoms become visible.
Symptoms of Low Potassium in Females
Low potassium levels can show up in women the same way as they do for men. This can include muscle cramps, tiredness, an irregular heartbeat, and general weakness in the body.
Women can also experience numbness or a pins-and-needles feeling in the hands and feet, heavy periods, and frequent vomiting. If they use water pills or some laxatives, this can pull the potassium even lower, so women dealing with any of these should mention them to a doctor.
What Are Some Low Potassium Causes?
Whenever hypokalemia develops, the potassium leaves the body faster than it is absorbed. The most common way out for potassium is through loss of fluids. It’s easy to lose this mineral through prolonged diarrhoea or vomiting, heavy sweating, or even certain medications.
Another common cause of low potassium can be induced through water pills, also called diuretics. Doctors typically prescribe these for high blood pressure and heart issues. While they do a great job of flushing out excess sodium and fluid through urine, they unfortunately end up draining essential potassium along with it.
Beyond those, other issues like long-term laxative use for kidney problems, or rare genetic or adrenal conditions, can also cause low levels of potassium. It’s always a good idea to bring a full list of your medications to your doctor so they can help you figure out exactly what is causing it.
Dr. Puneet Bhuwania, Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road, says: “A significant decrease in potassium levels, particularly in persons with heart disease, may result in irregular cardiac rhythms. This can cause feelings of dizziness or fainting.”
Low Potassium Level: How Is It Diagnosed
A blood test can easily confirm if the body has low potassium levels or not.
Doctors can check it as part of a routine blood test, which can also include a kidney checkup to see if the electrolytes are balanced or not.
If the tests reveal that the heart is at risk, the doctor may also add an ECG test to know how the heart is functioning. It is also important to understand why your levels are low, which the doctor can know by having a quick chat about your medications, diet, and any recent illnesses.
How Is Low Potassium Level Treated?
Treatment mostly depends on how low the level is and could be the reason behind the drop.
Common steps used to treat low potassium are:
- Eating foods like bananas, oranges, kiwi, potatoes, and green leafy vegetables which are high in potassium.
- The doctor would also advise taking oral potassium pills.
- For severe cases, the person can be given intravenous (IV) potassium, where the mineral is given slowly through a vein under medical care.
Potassium supplements can push the levels too high when taken without guidance and can have their own heart risks. So always consult a doctor before taking it.
How To Prevent Low Potassium Level In The Body?
Food is the simplest option to keep potassium levels at normal. An adult woman needs about 2,600 milligrams of potassium a day, while an adult man needs about 3,400 milligrams, according to dietary guidelines.
Consuming a diet built around fruits and vegetables can help meet the target easily. You can include spinach, beans, lentils, potatoes, bananas, oranges, and yogurt, as all carry good amounts of potassium. Staying hydrated during illness or heavy exercise is also important, as it can cause a lot of fluid loss, which can take potassium along with it.
People on water pills or living with a kidney disease are a special case, as too much potassium can be harmful for them. For them, the right amount should come from a doctor’s consultation.
When to See a Doctor For Low Potassium
If you experience mild tiredness now and then, this rarely points to a serious problem. Warning signs that call for medical help include a pounding or skipping heartbeat, severe muscle weakness, trouble breathing, or fainting.
If you are taking diuretics or living with heart or kidney disease, then you should have potassium checked during routine visits. Catching a low reading early can help prevent a small imbalance from turning into an emergency.
To book an appointment with a Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician, you can get in touch with Dr. Puneet Bhuwania working at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mira Road or call on +918108101104.
FAQs on Low Potassium Levels
1. What happens if your potassium is low?
If the body has low potassium, it can lead to tiredness, constipation, muscle cramps, and sometimes an uneven heartbeat. For more severe cases, it can also cause paralysis or breathing failure.
2. How to raise potassium levels in the body?
To improve potassium levels in the body, you can start by eating a potassium-rich diet that includes bananas, oranges, spinach, and potatoes.
3. What organ is affected by low potassium?
The heart and muscles are the most affected by low potassium, as potassium is quite important to keep the heartbeat steady and muscles working. The nerves, bones, and the digestive system can also get affected, as they too depend on it in one way or the other.
4. What are the low potassium symptoms in females?
Women can feel muscle cramps, tiredness, and an irregular heartbeat. They can also get heavy periods or experience frequent vomiting, which can add to the loss.
5. What are common causes of low potassium?
Diuretics or water pills are the most common cause of low potassium. . Someone suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting, or heavy sweating can also lose a lot of potassium.
6. How is low potassium diagnosed?
A blood test measures the potassium level, usually as part of a metabolic panel that also checks the kidneys and other electrolytes. A doctor may add an ECG to see whether the heart rhythm is affected or not.
7. How much potassium do adults need each day?
Women need about 2,600 milligrams a day while men need about 3,400 milligrams, based on dietary guidelines. Most of that can come from fruits, vegetables, beans, and dairy.
