Potassium Serum Potassium
A mineral your nerves and your heart need to fire properly.
What it measures
The main salt inside your cells, kept in a narrow band by the kidneys.
Sets the electrical rhythm of your heart and the contraction of every muscle - which is why the band is so tight.
Why it matters for how long you stay well
A diet rich in fruit, vegetables and dal keeps this steady and helps blood pressure at the same time, and blood pressure is the quiet decider of how your heart and kidneys age.
How it shows up in daily life
Low levels can bring cramps, weakness and a fluttering heartbeat; high levels often give no warning at all.
High and low readings
When it reads high
Can affect heart rhythm; a physician should see this promptly, and a squeezed sample can fake it.
When it reads low
Cramps and weakness; often from vomiting, diarrhoea or diuretics.
What moves it
Daily life
- fruit, vegetables, dal and coconut water, which raise it
- vomiting or loose motions, which lower it
- heavy sweating
- how the blood was drawn and handled
Medicines known to shift it
- diuretics (can lower it)
- blood-pressure medicines (can raise it)
- NSAIDs (can raise it)
Listed so a result can be read in context. It is not advice to start, stop or change any medicine; that decision belongs with your physician.
Common questions
What does Serum Potassium measure?
The main salt inside your cells, kept in a narrow band by the kidneys. Sets the electrical rhythm of your heart and the contraction of every muscle - which is why the band is so tight.
What does a high Potassium result usually mean?
Can affect heart rhythm; a physician should see this promptly, and a squeezed sample can fake it.
What does a low Potassium result usually mean?
Cramps and weakness; often from vomiting, diarrhoea or diuretics.
What is the usual reference range for Potassium?
A broad adult reference band is 3.5–5 mmol/L. Labs differ, so read your result against the band printed on your own report.
Educational only, not a diagnosis. A single number means little without your history and the rest of your panel, so discuss your own results with your physician.
Typical adult reference band
- Adults
- 3.5–5 mmol/L
Labs differ. The band printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Reported in mmol/L, mEq/L
Worth knowing
A sample that sat too long or was squeezed hard during the draw can raise this falsely, so an odd result is usually repeated.
Have a report with this marker on it? Read it in context.
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