I don't know if anyone knows about this topic: electrical heart
failure. One of my friends has had to go to the doctor because
he had chest pains. The Doc said it was Arythmia. So he had to
go to a new york hospital for a lot of money to get treated. His
doctors said that he could die from it, and the medication caused
cancer ( that he was taking). Well, I suggested that he run, excersize
and eat more, ( he is very skinny) but he says that has nothing
to do with it. Does anyone know what causes arythmia and how
it can be treated?
                        Thanks

        Is it that serious?  My EKG often comes back with a few irregular
beats.  Another question:  Is a low {*filter*} potassium level very bad?  My
doctor seems concerned, but she tends to worry too much in general.

___________________________________________________________________________
Alexis Perry                            "The less I want the more I get

eliot house box 413                      It's a promise or a lie
(617) 493-6300                           I'll repent before I die."
"Work? Have you lost your mind?!"
                        -Ren                            -Sting

   Nobody really admits to sharing my opinions - last of all Harvard College

Alexis Perry asked if low {*filter*} potassium could be dangerous.  Yes.
ZZ

Well, there are arrhythmias (sorry, I'm from the UK) and arrhythmias. The
occasional ventricular ectopic, such as we all get from time to time, isn't a
problem, whereas if you're having runs of them, in quick succession (aka
ventricular tachycardia) then you are in real danger. The danger lies in
the conversion of synchronised activity, which you still have in VT (albeit a
lot less efficient if the rate is too high), to disordered electrical activity
or fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a relatively minor problem, in that it
is not immediately life-threatening (though some of its late complications are
if untreated), whereas ventricular fibrillation is lethal: no pulse and so
on. VT predisposes to VF, usually because of the fabled 'R on T ectopic'.
There are, of course, loads of other arryhthmias as well, but that'll do to be
going on with...

Low {*filter*} potassium is not a good idea. Of course, it depends *how* low,
but the basic problem with low potassium is that it decreases the
excitation threshold and predisposes you to VEs or in extreme cases to VF.
That's only in extreme cases, and if your doctor was *that* worried, she'd
have given you some slo-K or something...

I would imagine your doctor is more concerned about the reason for your low K+
than its existence per se. A few slo-K will fix it, but why has it happened in
the first place? Nutrition is unlikely to be the cause (unless you've got very
low sodium as well), and there are a whole host of metabolic, renal and other
causes (including medications...). A few of the non-iatrogenic causes have
serious consequences if not treated (most don't), and that would probably
be the reason for the concern: to make sure you haven't got them.

Let me know if you want to know more (though I'm sure I'll find other
people have answered this: I've only just joined.)

Cheers,

The Wisp.

(Dr Chris Williams, wisp.dcs.warwick.ac.uk)

Chris

I was recently diagnosed as suffering from low potassium levels.  I'm
suffering from Sarcoidosis.

Whilst working in Florida recently, the mixture of cortico-steriods,
junk cooking.net">food & the heat gave me muscle cramps and throbbing headaches. Upon
my return, the {*filter*} tests showed lowered levels, thus causing what they
said were CLASSIC symptoms of low potassium levels.

Also my ESR is floating(sic) around 21, but I don't think that has any
bearing?

Cheers Nigel

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