Kidney patients issue a national health alert about high potassium

May 1 is 5^th Annual National High Potassium Awareness Day

The warning comes as the FDA pushes ahead with potassium-based salt substitutes and ignores the kidney community’s concerns about known risks to vulnerable people

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), America’s oldest and largest independent kidney patient consumer organization, will raise awareness on May 1, National Potassium Awareness Day , on the devastating impacts of unmanaged potassium levels. in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nearly three million Americans with CKD and/or heart failure live with high potassium levels.

Many people with CKD, including those with kidney failure, cannot excrete potassium properly. When a large amount of potassium is consumed, even through the consumption of artificially added potassium (for example, salt substitutes), it accumulates in the person’s body. This high level of potassium, known medically as hyperkalemia, can cause heart arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.¹ Immediate medical attention is required if a person experiences hyperkalemia.

In 2020, the AAKP launched National High Potassium Awareness Day to raise awareness of high potassium, hyperkalemia, and related serious medical consequences among the most vulnerable. May 1, 2024is the fifth edition of the AAKP “You’re O-K+” campaign., which is managed through the AAKP Patient Education and Research Center. The “Are you O-K+” campaign uses the scientific symbol for potassium, “K+”, with a popular message, “Are you OK,” to encourage people with kidney disease to know their potassium level. A potassium of 5.1 mEq/L and above may indicate hyperkalemia, making May 1 (5.1) the key moment for this annual awareness day. The campaign uses AAKP’s highly sophisticated and integrated digital platforms and grassroots networks to reach and educate millions of at-risk Americans and their families about the importance of managing potassium intake and levels.

In addition to the educational components of this year’s campaign, the AAKP is activating its Action Center to mobilize patients and all people of goodwill concerned about kidney health to contact their representatives at Congress and the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Robert M. Califf to express immediate concerns with the FDA’s proposed rule that would allow the use of potassium-based salt substitutes in foods for which salt is a required or optional ingredient.

During the open comment period for the FDA’s proposed rule, the AAKP, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) submitted a joint letter respectfully urging the FDA to reconsider the proposed rule and focus on more safety and more. effective ways to reduce sodium intake for the older population. Given the sky-high estimates of those unaware of compromised renal function and the clinical consequences of hyperkalemia, adding “hidden potassium” in the form of potassium chloride substitutes to the American diet is a risk that should not be taken. to assume In addition, kidney disease disproportionately affects black Americans, as well as other minority populations and those with lower income status and food insecurity.² Therefore, the risks associated with the adoption of potassium-based salt substitutes will likely exacerbate negative health outcomes among populations that already face significant and historic risks.

President of the AAKP Edward V. Hickey, III stated, “The AAKP and related kidney health organizations work diligently to educate patients and professionals about the dangers of high potassium and the impact that adverse events can have on individuals, the healthcare system and taxpayers We strongly encourage FDA to demonstrate greater leadership and proactively engage the kidney stakeholder community before finalizing any new potassium-based salt substitute policies that occur when agencies take actions that harm patients, and in this case, the FDA is fully aware of the risks its proposed action will have on Americans with poor kidney health.” Hickey is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, chair of the AAKP Veterans Health Initiative, and has a professional background that includes senior positions on Capitol Hill and two presidential administrations.

The national and bipartisan policy consensus to address kidney disease, established under multiple presidential administrations and multiple Congresses, prioritizes greater disease prevention, upstream disease detection and earlier intervention, better care management, and avoiding insufficiency preventable kidney disease and the need for organ transplants and/or dialysis. More than 37 million Americans are living with kidney disease, more than 800,000 have kidney failure and need dialysis or a transplant to live, and nearly 90,000 are waiting for a kidney transplant. The costs of kidney care to the taxpayer and the American health care system exceed 100 billion dollars one year. AAKP has targeted Government Determinants of Health (GDoH) as a key risk factor for Americans trying to manage kidney disease and prevent kidney failure. GDoH occurs when federal health agencies lose sight of their primary duty to safeguard the vulnerable populations they serve, and instead of acting as a problem solver, government itself becomes a barrier to improving outcomes clinical and an exacerbater of health disparity.

In 2018, AAKP launched the first and largest nonpartisan voter registration and education effort, KidneyVoter, in the kidney community. AAKP plans to engage and mobilize more than 500,000 kidney voters by 2024 so that certain issues affecting the lives and livelihoods of kidney patients are not overlooked by candidates and elected leaders.

To support this year’s National High Potassium Awareness Day, kidney advocates and other well-wishers can participate in the following efforts: Send a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf and Congressional leaders through the AAKP Action Center in opposition to the proposed salt substitution rule; register for this year’s celebrated “Are You O-K+” virtual event May 1 from 1:00-2:00 PM ET at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AreYouOK2024; and visit www.areyouok.org to access high potassium and kidney disease educational resources, patient stories, and additional AAKP materials, including the AAKP Nutrition Counter brochures and Understanding the Food Nutrition Facts Label, the seven editions of AAKP delicious! kidney-friendly recipes and our latest webinar on the essential role of diet in kidney health.

Since 1969, the American Association of Kidney Patients has been a patient-led organization that drives policy debates about kidney patient care choice and medical innovation. Over the past decade, AAKP patient advocates have helped advance lifelong transplant drug coverage for kidney transplant recipients (2020); the Presidential Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health (2019); new employment protections for living organ donors under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) through the US Department of Labor (2018); and Congressional legislation allowing HIV-positive organ transplants for HIV-positive patients (2013). Follow AAKP on social media at @kidneypatient on Facebook, @renal patients on X, and @kidneypatients on Instagram, and visit www.aakp.org for more information.

¹ American Association of Renal Patients. (2023, January 12). Hyperkalemia recovered July 21, 2023from https://aakp.org/center-for-patient-research-and-education/hyperkalemia/
² National Kidney Foundation. (2023, March 8). Minorities and Kidney Diseases. recovered July 21, 2023from https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/minorities-KD

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SOURCE American Association of Renal Patients