["The silent killer: hyper- and hypokalaemia"].

The estimation of potassium in the serum is basis for the diagnosis of potassium disturbances. The value is a result of intake, excretion and internal distribution of potassium between intra- and extracellular compartments of the body. Clinically, we often see disturbances of potassium. The causes are explained by an aging population with morbidities that warrant diuretic treatment on the one side, and chronic kidney diseases on the other. In the first cases, we see hypokalaemia, in the latter hyperkalaemia. Both can lead to increased mortalities which are often labelled as "sudden heart death" without finding the underlying mechanism to be potassium driven. This is due to the fact that cardiac arrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation, heart block) lead to cardiac arrest. The pathophysiological understanding of the principles is the key for the guidance of diagnosis and therapy of the disturbances of potassium metabolism. Only by that, a decrease in mortality can be accomplished.
(© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)