Exchangeable Potassium in Wasting, Amyotrophy, Heart-Disease, and Cirrhosis of the Liver

Effect of potassium-sparing diuretics on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and potassium retention in heart failure.

“…The development of hyperaldosteronism may possibly limit potassium conservation in amiloride-treated patients, but this seems unlikely with spironolactone where the drug competes with aldosterone at the receptor site-as indicated by the sustained increase in both plasma potassium and in the urine sodium/potassium ratios observed in our patients. In common with other studies (Croxson et al, 1972;Flear, Cooke, and Quinton, 1957;De Deuxchaisnes et al, 1961), there was no correlation of plasma potassium with KFE. However, a significant correlation of mean KE was found with the estimated dietary potassium intake.…”

Distribution of Body Potassium in Healthy Elderly Subjects

“…These authors have sug gested that the potassium content of fat-free mass in older, non-obese subjects should be 58 mmol/kg in women and give a value of 67 mmol/kg for their 3 older male subjects. These estimates agree quite closely with the average figures of 65.5 and 57.8 mmol/kg for males and females, respectively, obtained from the literature covering all adult age groups [1,3,5,6,8,11,12,15,17,18,21,22,31,32], Systematic errors in the estimation of fatfree mass are unlikely to account for the dif ference between these values and those re corded in the present series. For example, the subtraction of 1SEE of body density from the recorded regression coefficient [14] will in crease the observed ratio WBK/FFM by 5.0% to 55.6 mmol/kg in the male subjects and by 4.9% to 54.4 mmol/kg in the female subjects.…”

The effects of potassium supplements, spironolactone of amiloride on the potassium status of patients with heart failure

“…There was no change in plasma potassium but Ke increased by an average of 200 mmol. Down, Polak and Rao (1972) gave four patients with heart failure and an apparent potassium deficit 48 mmol/day for 2 months. There was no change in plasma potassium or Ke.…”

“…If potassium depletion is present, these changes in treatment should cause an increase in TBK, even in a patient whose TBK is reduced but still lies within the normal range. Surprisingly this approach has only rarely been used in heart failure (De Deuchaisnes, Busset and Collet, 1961;White, 1970;Davidson and Gillebrand, 1973).…”