In addition to paying attention to a low-salt diet and controlling sodium intake, patients with hypertension should also pay more attention to the risks caused by potassium deficiency.
Unlike sodium ions, which are mainly present in extracellular fluids, potassium ions are the most abundant cations in human cells and are also an essential nutrient. The balance of potassium inside and outside the cell is a basic need to maintain normal cellular function in the human body, through the action of sodium-potassium ATP transporters, thus forming a transmembrane electrochemical gradient of the cell, which is necessary for nerve conduction, muscle contraction and kidney function.
Therefore, it can be said that maintaining the balance of potassium ions is the basic need of the human body to maintain normal physiological functions, for patients with hypertension, the risk of abnormal blood potassium, especially hypokalemia is often higher, and the impact of hypokalemia on blood pressure, kidneys, myocardium and other aspects will bring huge health risks to patients with hypertension. Today's popular science article, let's talk about high blood pressure and hypokalemia.
Potassium deficiency in hypertensive patients poses a variety of health risks
Potassium ions are essential for maintaining the normal function of cells, and if the body is deficient in potassium, according to the degree of potassium deficiency, it will have a multi-faceted impact on human health, for patients with hypertension, especially pay attention to the risk of potassium deficiency, hypertensive patients with body lack of potassium, will bring 3 aspects of health risks.
First of all, the regulation of blood pressure also depends on the balance of sodium and potassium in the body, maintaining the adequacy of potassium in the body, it is conducive to increasing the excretion of sodium, thereby reducing the risk of increased blood volume caused by water and sodium retention, and if the body is deficient in potassium, it will increase the sensitivity of blood pressure to salt, the intake of high-salt diet will increase the risk of blood pressure soaring, and the blood pressure of hypertensive patients is often more difficult to control.
Second, many hypertensive patients themselves are at high risk of cardiovascular disease, especially those who have already had heart health problems, such as arrhythmias, heart failure and other problems of hypertension patients, if the body lacks potassium, the most significant impact is the impact on muscles, and this impact also includes the impact on the myocardium, potassium deficiency will increase the risk of arrhythmias in hypertensive patients, severe hypokalemia may also lead to ventricular fibrillation, induce cardiac arrest, life-threatening.
Third, hypertension is an important risk factor affecting kidney health, low blood potassium will lead to urinary concentration disorders, increased urination, but also affect kidney blood flow, increase glomerular filtration pressure, these aspects will have an impact on kidney health, if not corrected for a long time, low blood potassium will cause organic damage to the kidneys, and if it is hypertension superimposed with low blood potassium, the health impact on the kidneys will be greater.
Patients with hypertension have 4 abnormalities in the body, and they should pay attention to the risk of low blood potassium
How to pay attention to the low blood potassium problems that may occur in patients with high blood pressure? In addition to rationally monitoring blood potassium levels in combination with the situation, patients with hypertension can also pay attention to some related symptoms of the body in normal times, and the following 5 symptoms deserve our special attention:
Feeling tired, muscle weakness. The body's potassium deficiency, one of the most direct effects is the impact on muscle function, therefore, if the body is deficient in potassium, muscles will appear symptoms of fatigue, mild hypokalemia will be manifested as fatigue, and if it is a moderate to severe hypokalemia problem, it may bring muscle weakness, and even symptoms of breathing and swallowing difficulties.
Nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation. The related symptoms of the digestive system are also worth noting, the body's potassium deficiency will also affect the normal operation of the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, therefore, hypokalemia may lead to nausea, vomiting, constipation, bloating, etc., and these symptoms, may also exacerbate the problem of hypokalemia, it is worth noting.
Mentally apathetic, drowsy. Potassium is also very important for maintaining normal nerve conduction, and potassium deficiency in the body can affect nerve conduction, bringing related symptoms including mental malaise, drowsiness, unresponsiveness, etc., and in severe cases, it can lead to coma.
Increased urination. Potassium deficiency in the body will affect kidney health, and people with impaired renal function are also at high risk of hypokalemia, and if the body has potassium deficiency, it will affect the concentration function of the kidneys, so symptoms of urinary polypsia will occur, especially increased nocturia.
It should be clear that the above 4 symptoms are typical symptoms that may occur with potassium deficiency, but they are not specific symptoms, but other disease problems, which may also lead to the appearance of the above symptoms, whether the above symptoms are really caused by potassium deficiency in the body, or should be combined with symptoms, timely check blood potassium levels to further confirm.
The causes of potassium deficiency in patients with hypertension are revealed
Hypertensive patients should pay attention to the risks of potassium deficiency, and what causes it to be potassium deficiency, simply summarize.
Drug effects
Many patients with hypertension need to take antihypertensive drugs, and some antihypertensive drugs may bring about the risk of potassium deficiency, such as the commonly used antihypertensive drugs thiazide diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, etc., such drugs will lead to an increase in blood potassium excretion, easy to bring potassium deficiency problems, especially friends who have impaired kidney function, they should pay more attention. In addition, the risk of hypokalemia from other antihypertensive drugs is relatively low, and patients with severe renal insufficiency, taking sartan or pry antihypertensive drugs, should also pay attention to the possible risk of hyperkalemia.
In addition to antihypertensive drugs, if there is a problem with constipation in hypertensive patients, it is not recommended to take laxatives for a long time, and long-term diarrhea caused by laxatives may increase the excretion of potassium and bring about the risk of hypokalemia.
Effects of increased aldosterone
Aldosterone is a steroid hormone, this hormone at normal levels, can play a role in enhancing the kidneys for water reabsorption function, its other role, is to have the effect of sodium retention and potassium, but if due to certain disease factors, resulting in an increase in aldosterone secretion, it will bring insufficient sodium excretion, potassium excretion too much, and then manifested as increased blood pressure, decreased blood potassium problems.
This increase in aldosterone leads to hypertension, hypokalemia problems, blood pressure is often more difficult to control, hyperaldosteronism is one of the common causes of refractory hypertension, and at the same time will be accompanied by the problem of hypokalemia, should pay attention to the control of blood pressure and the timely correction of hypokalemia.
Physiological factors
If the kidney function is normal, the risk of blood potassium disorders in hypertensive patients is generally relatively low, in addition to the impact of drugs and diseases, for patients with hypertension, especially some existing cardiovascular diseases, or high-risk cardiovascular risks, we must also pay attention to the risk of potassium deficiency caused by some physiological factors, long-term excessive dieting, sudden severe diarrhea, vomiting, excessive drinking, which may lead to the problem of hypokalemia, in daily life, should pay more attention.
Effects of magnesium deficiency
This is a often overlooked reason, when the body is deficient in magnesium, it will increase the excretion of urinary potassium, resulting in hypokalemia, magnesium deficiency will also reduce the potassium concentration in cells, and increase the risk of arrhythmias, more than 50% of hypokalemia patients have magnesium deficiency, therefore, if there is a problem of both deficiencies, it should be corrected and improved at the same time.
Therefore, for patients with high blood pressure, in general, it is a good choice to use food supplements. A variety of foods are good sources of potassium supplementation, such as vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, bananas, amaranth and some dark vegetables and fruits, are rich sources of potassium, in addition, whole grains, various legumes, milk and dairy products, and various nuts, are also rich in potassium ions. In daily life, through balanced collocation, you can do a good job of potassium supplementation, in addition to paying attention to dietary potassium supplementation, you must also pay attention to protecting kidney function, check the blood potassium level in time according to the situation, timely find hypokalemia, and make positive correction and improvement, so as to avoid cardiovascular risks caused by potassium deficiency.