Role of medications in symptomatic hyperkalemia.
Sir,

In recent years, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), spironolactone and beta-adrenergic antagonists have been used to treat heart failure as first-line therapy.1 However, these medications can cause hyperkalaemia as a side-effect.2 We evaluated the medications and clinical profiles of patients with symptomatic hyperkalaemia in recent years.

We studied 40 consecutive patients with symptomatic hyperkalaemia, admitted between January 2001 and December 2006. Hyperkalaemia was defined as serum potassium >6.0 mmol/l. Medications and clinical profiles were evaluated; patients who underwent haemodialysis were excluded. Data are expressed as means ± SD. Paired and unpaired Student's t-tests were used; differences were considered significant at …