Low Serum Potassium found to Increase Mortality Risk in Heart Failure Patients.

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by the University of Alabama, Birmingham, has found that patients with heart failure who have a low serum potassium level are at increased risk of death. The study was published in the European Heart Journal (28, 11:1334-1343, 2007).This study paired 1189 patients in the Digitalis Investigation Group (DIG) trial who were found to have low serum potassium with other patients who matched their profile in all respects except that they had normal serum potassium. DIG was a large clinical trial of heart failure patients conducted in 302 centers in the US and Canada from 1991 to 1993. Study analysis found that heart failure patients with low to low-normal serum potassium levels were more likely to die than those with higher levels of potassium. Low-normal serum potassium patients were not significantly more likely to be hospitalized than the higher potassium group, suggesting most low potassium associated deaths were sudden deaths due to ventricular arrhythmias. Additionally, what was previously considered an acceptable level of potassium may actually be too low. While a level of 3.5 mEq/L is normally considered low, patients with potassium levels less than 4 mEq/L had an increased risk of long-term mortality. Researchers stated that while it is known that potassium homeostasis is essential for healthy heart function and low serum potassium may cause fatal arrhythmias, the association of low potassium and long-term mortality was not previously recognized. The link between low potassium and diuretics is a particular concern since diuretics are a common medication for heart failure patients and are known to cause low serum potassium. Bio-Design Hawthorn Extract Plus provides potassium aspartate as well as magnesium aspartate, hawthorn standardized extract and ActiVin grape seed extract.