Electrolytes

Electrolytes: Hyperkalaemia - Potassium and the heart

‘Potassium and the heart’ is a BJC e-learning programme for health care professionals. It reviews the role of this important electrolyte in health and disease.

Disturbances in potassium are common and, while patients may be asymptomatic, it can be life threatening. Patients with chronic kidney disease or heart failure patients receiving renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors are particularly vulnerable. This programme highlights aspects of the identification of potassium abnormalities, and how these may be treated acutely and in the chronic setting.

Faculty

Professor Philip Kalra, Consultant Nephrologist, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Professor of Renal Medicine, University of Manchester
Dr Jillian Riley, Senior Teaching Fellow, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London
Professor Mike Shattock, Professor of Cellular Cardiology, British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, King’s College London
Dr Cynthia Smith, Nurse Practitioner, Renal Consultants, PLLC, South Charleston, West Virginia, USA

Electrolytes module 1: potassium and the heart

Released 13 June 2018   Programme: Electrolytes 1 CPD/CME credit

Electrolytes module 1: potassium and the heart After completing this module, participants should be better able to understand:
  • The role of potassium in the body and its specific effects on the heart
  • The pathophysiology of disturbances of potassium, presenting as either hypo- or hyperkalaemia
  • The acute and chronic management of these conditions
  • New treatment agents and the role of diet in vulnerable patients.