Library/Electrolytes/Potassium/6.6

Potassium of 6.6 mmol/LWhat it means, and what usually happens next

6.6mmol/L Potassium
Severely high
33.55.15.566.5

A potassium of 6.6 mmol/L is 6.5 mmol/L or above, which is treated as severe.

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Potassium6.6mmol/L
Where it fallsSeverely high
The usual rangeabout 3.5 to 5.0 mmol/L (some labs go to 5.1 or 5.3)

What usually happens next

This is urgent: follow the advice you were given, and get emergency care now if you have palpitations, weakness or feel unwell, unless the lab has already told you the sample was haemolysed.

What a high potassium usually means, and its common causes

When a potassium can read wrong

Potassium is the result most often thrown off by the sample. Cells that burst in the tube, a tight tourniquet, clenching your fist, a long wait before the sample is spun, or a very high platelet or white cell count can all make it read high when your blood isn't.

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Questions

Is a potassium of 6.6 mmol/L normal?

A potassium of 6.6 mmol/L is 6.5 mmol/L or above, which is treated as severe. The usual range is about 3.5 to 5.0 mmol/L (some labs go to 5.1 or 5.3).

Is a potassium of 6.6 mmol/L dangerous?

Between 3.5 and 5.0 mmol/L is the usual range. Just above 5.0 is most often a sample that burst in the tube; 6.0 and over, or under 3.0, is a same-day call to your doctor.

Can bananas raise potassium to 6.6 mmol/L?

Not in people with healthy kidneys, which clear the extra quickly. With reduced kidney function, or on medicines that hold potassium, diet matters more.

Worked out by LifeFrom from the European Resuscitation Council's bands and the usual lab range, and not yet reviewed by a clinician. For your own understanding: only a lab test, read by your clinician, diagnoses anything.