Research Challenges Potassium Recommendations For Heart Attack Patients.

HealthDay  (1/11, Preidt) reports, "Heart attack patients whose blood potassium levels are within a certain range are less likely to die than those with levels of the mineral below or above that range, says a new study  that challenges current recommendations for potassium levels in heart attack patients." Investigators analyzed data on approximately 39,000 patients admitted to the hospital after experiencing a heart attack. The researchers found that "the death rate for patients with blood potassium levels of between 3.5 and less than 4 mEq/L (milliEquivalents per liter) was 4.8 percent, about the same as the five percent death rate among those with levels of 4 mEq/L to less than 4.5 mEq/L." However, "mortality rose to 10 percent for those with levels of 4.5 to less than 5 mEq/L, and was even higher for those with levels greater than 5 mEq/L, the investigators found." The research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

        HeartWire  (1/11, Stiles) reports, "While serum K levels of 3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L are considered normal, in acute MI the guidelines recommend potassium administration to maintain a range of 4.0 to 5.0 mEq/L so as to lower the risk of ventricular fibrillation (VF) or cardiac arrest, explained lead author Dr Abhinav Goyal to HeartWire."