Verywell / Katie Kerpel
What Is Potassium?
A diet rich in potassium helps to offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure.
Meeting your daily potassium requirement helps keep your heart working at its best.
Verywell / Katie Kerpel
A healthy potassium blood level is between 3.5 and 5.0 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L).
Potassium levels that are too high or too low can exacerbate heart failure.
The kidneys are responsible for maintaining the balance of potassium in the blood.
Potassium levels are tightly regulated because it is required for normal cell function.
This mineral helps to maintain the balance between intracellular fluid volume and transmembrane electrochemical gradients.
Dietary changes can help prevent and treat high or low potassium levels.
Before starting a low potassium, diet check in with a healthcare professional to safely plan your course.
If you have a condition that weakens your heart, that may not be the case.
You may need to pay close attention to the amount of potassium you ingest.
If left untreated severe hyperkalemia can lead to heart stoppage and death.
Water pills, also known as diuretics, are commonly used to help rid the body of extra potassium.
They work by making your kidney create more urine which flushes out potassium in the process.
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