Potassium supports electrical signalling
Biomarker library
Kidney Health
Potassium
Potassium is the main salt inside your cells, and it is essential for a steady heartbeat, nerve signals and muscle contraction.
Measured in your health assessment, with a doctor to explain your result. Book yours
Why it matters
Because nearly all of it sits inside cells, small changes in the blood level are significant, especially for the heart. The kidneys do most of the balancing.
What a result can mean
Lower than the range
Low potassium is commonly caused by diuretics, vomiting or diarrhoea, and can cause weakness, cramps and palpitations.
Higher than the range
High potassium can come from reduced kidney function or medicines such as ACE inhibitors and spironolactone. Very often, though, it is a false reading caused by red cells bursting in a sample that was delayed or shaken in transit, so it is usually repeated.
What can help
Fruit, vegetables, beans and nuts are rich in potassium and help lower blood pressure in people with healthy kidneys. Abnormal results are rechecked and medicines reviewed, and people with kidney disease may need to limit high-potassium foods.
Read it with
NoteGeneral educational illustration. Colours, sizes and movement are simplified. This is not a scan or a simulation of your body. General information, not personal medical advice: a doctor reads your own results with your history.
Know your potassium.
Measured in your health assessment and explained by the doctor who reviews your results.