Biomarker education

Potassium: What It Measures & Why People Track It

Also called: K, Serum potassium

Potassium is an electrolyte important for muscle and nerve function, included on metabolic panels.

General biomarker education — not personalized medical advice. Learn more

Result on your report

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Potassium

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Range: Low – High

LowReference intervalHigh

What it generally measures

Labs report the concentration of potassium in the blood sample, which can be affected by diet, medications, kidney function, and how the sample was handled.

Common units on reports: mmol/L

Why people track it over time

Potassium is often monitored alongside kidney markers and certain medications your clinician may already be tracking.

Changes over time do not by themselves establish a diagnosis. Learn more

Questions you might ask a healthcare professional

Questions to bring

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Ask whether any medications you take are commonly monitored alongside potassium.

Ask how this value compares with prior results and with kidney-related markers on the same report.

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Reference range

Potassium reference range

What the range on your report means for this marker.

Panel guide

Related panel guide

Understand the broader panel this marker appears on.

Related biomarker

Sodium

Sodium is an electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance and is part of most metabolic panels.

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