Nursing Case Study #1
Hyperkalemia refers to a medical condition whereby a patient has too much potassium in the blood. The four etiological conditions that may cause Hyperkalemia in Mr. X include the acute kidney failure (stage five), hyperlipidemia, the drugs that the patient uses, and hormonal disorders. Kidneys have the function of regulating the amount of potassium in the blood. If a patient suffers from kidney failure or the acute kidney disease, the organs cannot regulate the amount of potassium in the blood, causing its increase above the normal level (Hyperkalemia, 2014). Some of the diseases in the patient can affect the production of the aldosterone hormone. The hormone helps the kidneys in regulating the amount of potassium in the blood. Hyperlipidemia is one of the conditions that affect the production of the hormone. The drugs that the patient uses, especially the ones for the heart-related diseases could also cause Hyperkalemia (Hyperkalemia, 2014).
The deficiency of magnesium in the body affects the homeostasis of potassium by lowering the amount of potassium in the blood. The condition where the body has the level of potassium lower than the normal level is called Hypokalemia. Mr. X could maintain the homeostasis of potassium by eating foods that have low magnesium contents. By creating the deficiency of magnesium in the body, Mr. X’s body would trigger a homeostatic response mechanism that will lower the amount of potassium in his blood (Wong et al., 2002).
Hyperkalemia affects the muscle tissues of the heart (myocardium) by inducing cardiac arrest (Parham et al., 2006). The presence of too much potassium in the blood triggers the myocardium to extremely high levels of activity, causing a fast rate of heart-beat. The excessive activity of the myocardium due to the high levels of potassium is the cause of cardiac arrest in Hyperkalemia patients (Parham et al., 2006). Albumin and calcium have positive relationships because albumin is the protein that assists in the transportation of calcium in the body. The implication of the relationship is that when the body has low albumin, it suffers of calcium deficiency. Serum ionized calcium is the form of calcium that is physiologically active. It accounts for 50% to 55% of the amount of calcium in the body. The chronic kidney disease is the cause of hypocalcaemia and hyperphosphatemia (Parham et al., 2006).
References
Hyperkalemia (2014). “Hyperkalemia: Symptoms and Treatment.” Retrieved on September 23,
2014 from http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyperkalemia-causes-symptoms-treatments
Parham, W.A., Mehdirad, A.A., Biermann, K.M., & Fredman, C.S. (2006). Hyperkalemia
Revisited. The Texas Heart Institute Journal, Vol.33 (1). Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1413606/
Wong, N.L.M., Sutton, R.A., Navichak, V., Quame, G.A., & Dirks, J.H. (2002). Enhanced distal
absorption of potassium by magnesium-deficient rats. Clinical Science, Vol. 69, pp.626 –639.
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