The Management of Hyperkalemia in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
Abstract
The development of hyperkalemia is common in patients with cardiac and kidney disease who are administered drugs that antagonize the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). As the results of large-scale clinical trials in hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and congestive heart failure demonstrate benefits of RAAS blockade alone or, in some cases, in combination therapies, the incidence of hyperkalemia has increased in clinical practice. Although there is potential for adverse events in the presence of hyperkalemia, there also are potential benefits of RAAS blockers that support their use in high-risk patient populations. Management of hyperkalemia may be improved by identifying the levels of potassium that may potentially induce harm and using appropriate strategies to avert the levels that may be dangerous or life threatening.
Division of Hypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Conn
Requests for reprints should be addressed to Apurv Khanna, MD, Division of Hypertension and Clinical Pharmacology, Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3940
Funding: This work was supported in part by funding from US Department of Defense DAMDW81XWH-05-10060, NIH R01 AG022092, and an unrestricted educational grant from Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.
Conflict of Interest: Dr White discloses that he has received research funding during the previous 12 months from the National Institutes of Health, the Catherine and Patrick Donaghue Foundation, Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Novartis, Inc, and Pfizer, Inc. Dr White serves as a safety consultant to Gilead, Inc, Nicox, Inc, Palatin Technologies, Takeda Research Development Group, and Teva Neurosciences, Inc. Dr Khanna discloses he has received an unrestricted educational grant from Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.
Authorship: All authors had access to the data and played a role in writing this manuscript.
ABSTRACT
