Share this on:Copied!

If you’ve been feeling unusually tired or noticing heart palpitations, you might have low potassium levels. Doctors call this condition hypokalemia.

Although hypokalemia is usually mild, a severe drop in normal potassium levels can cause health problems. Here’s what you need to know about this essential mineral — and why getting enough of it is important.

What Is Potassium?

Potassium is an electrolyte. Electrolytes are minerals that carry electrical charges into the body through the blood. Other electrolytes include calcium, magnesium, and sodium.

Potassium occurs naturally in many foods and is necessary for many bodily functions. It helps your muscles and nerves function correctly, helps your heart beat rhythmically, and controls the pH balance in your body.

Typically, your kidneys remove unneeded potassium from the bloodstream. The extra potassium leaves the body in your urine. But when too much potassium exits your body, it creates an electrolyte imbalance and can lead to health problems.

Complications of hypokalemia include high blood pressure, loss of calcium in bones, and a higher risk of kidney stones.

Low Potassium Symptoms

If you have mild hypokalemia, you may not have any symptoms. Symptoms are sometimes vague and easily mistaken for other problems.

Signs of low potassium may take weeks or months to appear. Mild low potassium symptoms include:

• Constipation.
• Fatigue.
• Muscle weakness.
• Tingling or numbness in your hands or feet.

Severe low potassium symptoms happen when potassium levels drop rapidly. These are more serious and require immediate medical attention. They include:

• Abnormal heart rhythms or feeling like your heart missed a beat. This is more common in people who already have heart disease.
• Dizziness or feeling faint.
• High blood pressure.
• High blood sugar.
• Increased urination.
• Muscle cramps and twitches.
• Paralysis (in rare, severe cases).

Risk Factors for Low Potassium

You may wonder: Can I have low potassium if I don’t eat enough potassium-rich foods?

It’s unlikely. Many common foods (beans, leafy greens, potatoes, fish, bananas) contain potassium. It’s more likely your hypokalemia comes from losing potassium through the digestive tract or urinary system.

Here are the risk factors for low potassium.

• An adrenal gland disorder. High aldosterone levels (hyperaldosteronism) or Cushing’s syndrome can lead to low potassium levels.
• An alcohol use disorder (formerly called alcohol addiction or alcoholism).
• An eating disorder such as bulimia.
• Chronic kidney disease, especially in the early stages.
• Excessive diarrhea or vomiting.
• Excessive sweating.
• Genetic disorders such as Bartter syndrome or Gitelman syndrome. (Both of these are rare.)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.)
• Low levels of magnesium in the blood.
• Medications that cause too much potassium to move from the blood into cells. These drugs include insulin and asthma drugs like albuterol and terbutaline.
• Overusing laxatives can cause diarrhea.
• Some antibiotics.
• Taking water pills (diuretics), which cause you to lose too much potassium in the urine.

Diagnosing Low Potassium

If your doctor suspects you have low potassium, they’ll order a potassium blood test. It’s usually part of an electrolyte panel, a group of routine blood tests that measure the amount of electrolytes in your body.

The normal range or safe zone for high or low potassium is 3.5 to 5 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). The caution zone is 2.5 to 3.4 mmol/L for low potassium. If your reading is lower than 2.5 mmol/L, you’re in the danger zone for low potassium.

Your doctor may also order a urine test to determine your potassium levels. They typically order urine tests if the cause of low potassium isn’t clear (for example, you’re not vomiting or using diuretics or other drugs).

Your doctor may also order an electrocardiogram (ECG) to see if low potassium is causing abnormal heart rhythms.

How Do Doctors Treat Low Potassium?

You may not need medical treatment for low potassium. For mild cases, the only treatment may be to change your diet. In other words, you may need to eat more potassium-rich foods.

Your doctor will recommend the best way for you to get more potassium. In addition to changing your diet, they may also prescribe:

• Potassium supplements by mouth — You should only take potassium in the amount recommended by your doctor. Don’t take over-the-counter potassium tablets, which could throw off your electrolyte balance.
• Potassium supplements are given intravenously. In severe cases, you may need potassium delivered by an IV. Your doctor will monitor you carefully to make sure your potassium levels stay in the safe zone and don’t get too high.

If you take prescription diuretics for high blood pressure or heart problems, your doctor will monitor your potassium levels carefully. They may switch you to another form of diuretic that helps keep potassium in the body. They may also prescribe more potassium for you to take daily.

To help prevent your potassium levels from dropping, your doctor may recommend:

• Eating potassium-rich foods.
• Limiting alcohol and caffeine, both of which are diuretics.
• Staying hydrated by drinking enough water.
• Taking the correct amount of prescription medications.
• Treating the underlying cause of hypokalemia, including diarrhea, vomiting, or eating disorders.

Foods High in Potassium

The good news is that, in many cases, you can restore normal potassium levels by eating the right foods. Potassium-rich foods include:

• Avocados
• Baked potatoes
• Bananas
• Beans
• Bran
• Carrots
• Dried apricots
• Lean beef
• Lentils
• Milk
• Orange juice
• Oranges
• Peanut butter
• Peas
• Poultry
• Salmon
• Salt substitutes
• Seaweed
• Soybeans
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Wheat germ

When Should I Call a Doctor About Low Potassium?

Call your doctor’s office for advice if you have the following symptoms of severe hypokalemia. It’s especially important to let your doctor know if you’ve been vomiting or have diarrhea and if you’re taking diuretics.

• Dizziness.
• Excessive vomiting and belly cramps.
• Feeling bloated or constipated.
• Feeling very thirsty.
• Feeling very weak or tired.
• Peeing more than usual.
• Severe arm or leg cramps.
• Severe diarrhea.
• Tingling or numbness.

You should call 911 or have someone take you to the emergency room if:

• You feel like your heart is missing beats.
• You passed out.
• You have a seizure.