Assessment of serum potassium levels in acute myocardial infarction patients

Abstract

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the five main manifestations of coronary heart disease, namely stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris, MI, heart failure and sudden death. Potassium (K) is an intracellular ion, while the lower extracellular K levels are mainly regulated by renal excretion and exchanges between the intracellular and extracellular space. Hence; we planned the present study to assess serum potassium levels in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Materials & methods: A total of 10 AMI patients and 10 healthy controls were included in the present study. Detailed demographic and clinical data of all the subjects was obtained. Fresh blood samples were obtained from all the subjects and were sent to the laboratory for assessment. Serum potassium levels were analyzed by using an auto-analyzer. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Mean serum potassium levels among subjects of the AMI group and the control group was 4.12 and 4.62 mmol/L respectively. Significant results were obtained while comparing the mean potassium level among subjects of the AMI group and control group respectively. Conclusion: AMI patients are significantly associated alteration in serum potassium levels, thereby, indicating the role of potassium in the pathogenesis of the disease.