Chronic Hyperkalemia (General Population)

Routine blood tests are the best way to recognize the severity of a patient’s hyperkalemia.  Hyperkalemia is routinely described as life threatening when serum potassium goes above 6 mEq/L.  It is at this level and above, when patients experience neurologic symptoms, cardiac arrhythmias and death. 

Wannamathee, et. al. examined the relationship between serum potassium and all causes of mortality in a sample of 7,636 British men from 1978 to 1991.  Persons in the top 3% of the sample by serum potassium had more than twice the mortality of the average person in the sample.  The disproportionate ratio held up after controlling other risk factors.   In another study, Jing Fang, et al, concluded that elevated serum potassium is an independent cardiovascular mortality risk factor, even in people with normal renal function or low cardiovascular disease risk.

The estimated market potential for the treatment of chronic hyperkalemia in the general practice setting is approximately $1Billion.