Association of hypokalemia with severe arrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction

ABSTRACT

Clinical and animal studies suggest that the ischemic heart can be particularly vulnerable to hypokalemia leading to the cardiac arrhythmia. To evaluate the association of severe arrhythmia with hypokalemia in patients with acute myocardial infarction [AMI]. Retrospective study. Coronary Care Unit, Salmaniya Medical Complex. Two hundred and seventy-four patients with AMI had serum potassium levels measured on admission along with other cardiovascular risk factors. Serum potassium concentrations were significantly decreased with the severity of arrhythmias [no arrhythmias; 4.2 +/- 0.80 mmol/l, supra-ventricular; 3.8 +/- 0.9 mmol/l, and ventricular arrhythmias; 3.3 +/- 0.5 mmol/l, p=0.0001]. The risks of supra-ventricular and ventricular arrhythmias were significantly increased by 2.4 and 8.3 fold, respectively in patients with serum potassium levels at the lowest quartile [<3.5 mmol/l] compared with the highest quartile of serum potassium when adjusted for other risk factors. The results of this study suggest that hypokalemia is independently associated with the severity of arrhythmias in patients with AMI