Potassium is an important nutrient and electrolyte — it helps muscles work, including those involved in breathing and keeping your heart beating.

But too much potassium in your system, known as hyperkalemia, can cause serious health problems. And people with kidney disease aremore prone发展高钾血症。

If you have kidney disease, here are five things you need to know about hyperkalemia in honor of National Kidney Month this March.

钾自然存在于各种食物中，包括香蕉，橙子，菠菜，地瓜和鳄梨。

Normally, the body uses the potassium it needs and processes any excess potassium as waste. People with normal kidney function can typically eat a high potassium diet without issue.

但是，如果您患有肾脏疾病，您的肾脏可能不会从您的体内清除多余的钾，导致高钾血症。即使是含有平均钾的饮食，也会导致肾脏疾病患者的高钾血症。

“The kidneys play a crucial role in maintaining a normal potassium balance by adjusting the amount of potassium excreted in the urine according to changes in potassium intake,” saidCsaba P. Kovesdy，，，，MD, a nephrologist and professor of medicine-nephrology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, and member of the National Kidney Foundation.

Kovesdy补充说：“饮食钾摄入量只能通过将钾移入细胞来部分和临时地补偿。

科维斯迪解释说：“因此，高钾血症在肾功能降低的个体中尤其普遍，尤其是如果肾功能急性恶化（例如在急性肾脏损伤中），或者如果需要增强钾的排泄量（急性肾脏损伤）（例如突然增加钾的摄入量。”

估计2％至3％普通人群患有高钾血症，但风险是2至3次根据国家肾脏基金会的说法，患有慢性肾脏疾病（CKD）的患者更高。

Up to half of those in predialysis stages of CKD may develop hyperkalemia. People with CKD who also have diabetes or cardiovascular disease are at especially high risk, as are those with advanced CKD, kidney transplant recipients, and those taking renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors.

Kidney disease isn’t the only cause of hyperkalemia. High potassium can result from ingesting too much of the nutrient via food or supplements.

其他疾病，例如糖尿病，也可能增加高钾血症的风险。

导致人体保留钾，增加钾供应或含有钾本身的药物也会引起高钾血症。

For example, ACE inhibitors, used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, block potassium excretion and increase the risk of hyperkalemia in people who take these drugs to treat these conditions.

如果您患有肾脏疾病，那么也有可能患有高钾血症并且不知道。大多数钾含量很少或没有症状。

即使症状确实出现 - 肌肉无力，麻木，刺痛，恶心 - 它们往往是温和的，很难归因于高钾。随着时间的流逝，这些症状会缓慢发展，然后来来去去。

如果您经历心pal，呼吸急促，胸痛，恶心或呕吐，则可能是钾水平峰值的标志。任何突然的高钾血症发作都可能危及生命，因此，如果您出现这些症状，请立即寻求医疗护理。

严重的高钾血症会导致肌肉无力，瘫痪，心pal和四肢燃烧或刺痛的症状。

The most serious symptom of hyperkalemia is cardiac arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat.

High potassium levels can interfere with the electrical signals involved in the function of the thick middle muscle layer of the heart, called the myocardium.

The resulting arrhythmias can lead to a heart attack — sometimes without warning, and sometimes fatal.

虽然高钾血症可能主要是一个隐藏的问题，但很容易诊断。

A simple blood test can detect high levels of potassium in the blood. In fact, many people learn that they have hyperkalemia from the results of routine blood work or a basic metabolic panel that’s’ done for other health reasons.

正常血钾水平范围约为3.6至5.0毫米/升（mmol/L）。如果您的血液钾水平高于此范围，则可能患有高钾血症。超过6.0 mmol/L的水平被认为是严重的。

If you’re looking at your blood test results, blood potassium levels may be listed as “potassium,” “serum potassium,” or “K.”

“Potassium measurement is part of most routine laboratory tests that are typically performed in patients with kidney disease,” said Kovesdy. “More frequent testing is typically done in patients who have advanced stages of kidney disease, precisely because of the higher likelihood of the development of various metabolic abnormalities, of which hyperkalemia is one.”

如果发现严重的高钾血症，您的医生还可以订购心电图（ECG）来评估对您的心脏的影响，并确定是否需要紧急治疗。

治疗高钾血症的明显方法是减少系统中的钾含量。

The first step is to switch to a low potassium diet. Since individual potassium needs vary (you will still need to consume some), your healthcare provider or dietitian can help design an eating plan that’s right for your overall health and nutritional needs.

Kovesdy说：“饮食限制的主要问题并不是保持它的困难。”“高钾饮食是心脏保护性的，限制钾的摄入量代表了一种治疗性折衷，要求患者食用不太健康的饮食以防止高钾血症的发展。”

Hyperkalemia can also be treated with medical interventions.

利尿剂或“水药”可用于帮助将多余的钾从体内冲洗掉。口服或直肠服用的钾粘结剂也可用于与肠子中的钾结合，这有助于在人体自然消化过程中去除多余的钾。

患有某些健康状况（包括肾脏疾病）的人患高钾血症的风险增加。有一个简单的血液检查可以帮助诊断高钾，即使您没有症状。

If you are diagnosed with hyperkalemia, it can be treated with dietary modifications and medical interventions. Taking steps to control high potassium can help reduce the risk of related medical emergencies.