Causes

By Mayo Clinic Staff

The most common cause of true high potassium, also called hyperkalemia, is linked to the kidneys. Causes might include:

  1. Acute kidney injury
  2. Chronic kidney disease

Some medicines or supplements can cause of hyperkalemia, including:

  1. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
  2. Angiotensin II receptor blockers
  3. Beta blockers
  4. Too much potassium supplement

Other causes of hyperkalemia include these conditions:

  1. Addison's disease
  2. Dehydration
  3. Destroyed red blood cells from severe injury or burns
  4. Type 1 diabetes

Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Oct. 31, 2024

See also

  1. Addison's disease
  2. Adrenal fatigue: What causes it?
  3. MRI
  4. Salt craving: A symptom of Addison's disease?
  5. Seeing inside the heart with MRI
  6. Ultrasound
  7. MRI
  8. X-ray