• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

high potassium in blood test?

duseskiz

Active member
hello everyone, last friday we did a blood test for my girl Duses and everything is ok but K (potassium) level. It is high like 8,5 MMOL/L which sould be between 3.7 - 5.8. i know that this could be a sign of potential heart disease but is there any reason to build up K level that high? her kidney's, liver's levels and everything are totally fine...Thanks...
 
You may be able to reduce potassium in her diet and see if the levels drop to within range.

I don't have any experience with this in dogs. I had a (human) friend who had a similar result on a blood test. I think her doctor told her she was in end stage kidney/liver failure, and she was like "bull$#^+, I'm not even sick". So they did another blood test a week later after a low potassium diet and she was back in range.

Pat or Rod will be able to give you better information. Both are US based, so hopefully they'll drop in today. But it could be a while.
 
hello everyone, last friday we did a blood test for my girl Duses and everything is ok but K (potassium) level. It is high like 8,5 MMOL/L which sould be between 3.7 - 5.8. i know that this could be a sign of potential heart disease but is there any reason to build up K level that high? her kidney's, liver's levels and everything are totally fine...Thanks...

How old is your girl, how is her general health, and have you seen any symptoms of illness? Why did you run the blood test? What kind of food does she eat?

High potassium is not a sign of potential heart disease, but rather high potassium can CAUSE heart disease. It can cause an arrhythmia, which is an irregular heart rate. VERY high potassium can cause a fatal arrhythmia.

If this is a young or middle-aged Cavalier with no symptoms or health problems, my guess is that this is either a lab error or that the blood sample was handled improperly (hemolysis). If you are worried, you could repeat the blood test in a couple of weeks.

Was a urinalysis also done? Kidney disease is usually evident in a urinalysis long before it is evident in blood chemistry. If I saw the complete report, something might stand out.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_hyperkalemia#.Ua3Vves-Ke0


Pat
 
Duses is 3 years old, spayed at 2, generally healhty and no syptomps of any illness. She eats half grain free kibble and half home cooked food. i give her coq10 30 mg and somon oil eveyday and vit e 200 iu every other day. she had patella surgery in february 2012 nad started funny walking and limping a couple of months a go. i took her to the vet and we were said that fibrotic tissue had been grown up around the kneecap so she needed to have another surgery, so this is why we run her blood test. :( i tried to put her blood test photo on this message but i did not manage :( anyway; last december we took her to the vet for only general check and K and Na levels were high then too. that time i used to give her Glycoaid HA which contains lake salt. So, i thought that could be the reason why they are high and i stoped giving it. However, this time Na is ok but K is still up. İf this is lab error i shoud try another lab then. the result is like that; ALT 41 (10-118 U/L) , GLU 91 (60-110 MG/DL), BUN 16 (7-25 MG/DL), CRE 0.6 (0.3-1.4 MG/DL ), Na 156 (138-160 MMOL/L ), K 8.5 (3.7-5.8MMOL/L ), CL 101 (106-120 MMOL/L ), TCO2 22 (12-27 MMOL/L). Thanks...
 
Last edited:
i tried to put her blood test photo on this message but i did not manage :( anyway; last december we took her to the vet for only general check and K and Na levels were high then too. that time i used to give her Glycoaid HA which contains lake salt. So, i thought that could be the reason why they are high and i stoped giving it. However, this time Na is ok but K is still up. İf this is lab error i shoud try another lab then. the result is like that; ALT 41 (10-118 U/L) , GLU 91 (60-110 MG/DL), BUN 16 (7-25 MG/DL), CRE 0.6 (0.3-1.4 MG/DL ), Na 156 (138-160 MMOL/L ), K 8.5 (3.7-5.8MMOL/L ), CL 101 (106-120 MMOL/L ), TCO2 22 (12-27 MMOL/L). Thanks...

OK, here is something to keep in mind:

Her Na/K ratio is 18.35. In normal dogs, the Na/K ratio should be greater than 27.1. Dogs with Addison's disease have an Na/K ratio of less than 27.1, so I'd want to consider some further investigation about this. There is still the chance that the serum sample was improperly handled and there was hemolysis. This is not the fault of the lab, and usually there is a note on the report if hemolysis has occurred. Symptoms of Addison's disease can be very vague and mild, but a dog can experience a crisis called an "Addisonian crash." I'm not saying that I think she has Addison's, but I just noticed that little red flag, and it would be good for you to be aware of this potential so you can be watchful. If you and your vet have any concerns, you can run an ACTH stimulation test to rule the disease in or out. I'm pasting some quotes with links:

"A helpful diagnostic parameter is
a narrow sodium/potassium ratio. A healthy dog
shows a ratio from >27:1 to 40:1, whereas the
ratio in dogs suffering from Addison’s disease is
< 27:1 (<25:1). In so called atypical Addison’s
disease about 10 % of dogs with primary
hypoadrenocorticism have serum levels of
sodium and potassium within the normal range.
To avoid incorrect interpretations the submitted
serum sample must be free of hemolysis and
spun down when sent to the lab.
Pseudohyperkalemia (this means a falsely elevated
potassium result) can falsify the result and is
caused by hemolysis, prolonged shipping and is
seen in dogs with extreme thrombocytosis and
leucocytosis."

http://www.laboklin.de/pdf/en/aktuell/lab_akt_0906_en.pdf

http://www.2ndchance.info/addison's.htm

(Another red flag - note the symptom of joint problems in the above link. And note that Addison's is often not diagnosed for some time because of the vague symptoms.)

http://www.k9addisons.com/clinical_implications_of_sodium_potassium_ratios_in_dogs.pdf

BUT, this article talks about the Na/K ratio being misleading in diagnosing Addison's and note what it says about patellar luxation and electrolyte imbalances.

So.........it's not very clear cut, is it? But it's good for you to be aware of the potential of Addison's so you can be watchful.

Pat
 
Rod and Pat thank you very much,

i am gonna study and discuss with my vet all the links you gave. in fact, i came across with Addison when surfing on the internet but Duses does not show any of it's symptoms, so i had elimated it. However, it is better to know all about Addison though.

it is saying below that "can falsify the result and is
caused by hemolysis, prolonged shipping and is
seen in dogs with extreme thrombocytosis and
leucocytosis."

the blood test report shows HEM: 0, it should not be the shipping as the clinic have done the test, i mean the clinic is also the lab. However, i am thinking now Duses has large platelets and it says "dogs with extreme thrombocytosis", do you think this could be the reason?



"To avoid incorrect interpretations the submitted
serum sample must be free of hemolysis and
spun down when sent to the lab.
Pseudohyperkalemia (this means a falsely elevated
potassium result) can falsify the result and is
caused by hemolysis, prolonged shipping and is
seen in dogs with extreme thrombocytosis and
leucocytosis."
 
it is saying below that "can falsify the result and is
caused by hemolysis, prolonged shipping and is
seen in dogs with extreme thrombocytosis and
leucocytosis."

However, i am thinking now Duses has large platelets and it says "dogs with extreme thrombocytosis", do you think this could be the reason?

No, this is not the reason for an elevated potassium level. Duses does not have thrombocytosis (high number of platelets), but she has the Cavalier breed specific "idiopathic symptomless thrombocytopenia (low number of platelets) and macrothrombocytosis (larger than normal platelets)" which probably 30-50% of Cavaliers have. It is a condition where Cavaliers have lower than normal platelets which are also larger than normal. That is why labs generally hand count platelets for Cavaliers rather than having the machine count them. BUT, this condition causes absolutely no symptoms and no changes in blood chemistry other than on the measurement of platelets. This would not be the reason for an elevated potassium level.

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/platelets.htm

Thrombocytosis is a different problem:

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dv...iew-of-t/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/19204

This is where the body produces an excessive number of platelets, which is opposite from the Cavalier breed specific thrombocytopenia.

Pat
 
No, this is not the reason for an elevated potassium level. Duses does not have thrombocytosis (high number of platelets), but she has the Cavalier breed specific "idiopathic symptomless thrombocytopenia (low number of platelets) and macrothrombocytosis (larger than normal platelets)" which probably 30-50% of Cavaliers have. It is a condition where Cavaliers have lower than normal platelets which are also larger than normal. That is why labs generally hand count platelets for Cavaliers rather than having the machine count them. BUT, this condition causes absolutely no symptoms and no changes in blood chemistry other than on the measurement of platelets. This would not be the reason for an elevated potassium level.

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/platelets.htm

Thrombocytosis is a different problem:

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dv...iew-of-t/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/19204

This is where the body produces an excessive number of platelets, which is opposite from the Cavalier breed specific thrombocytopenia.

Pat

thank you Pat, Duses is recovering quickly and then my vet and i will discuss if this is Addison, i hope not :(
 
thank you Pat, Duses is recovering quickly and then my vet and i will discuss if this is Addison, i hope not :(

I really don't have a strong feeling that Duses has Addison's disease. I just mentioned it because I can't really find any other obvious reasons for the high potassium.

Please keep us posted if there is anything new.

Pat
 
Back
Top