Hypokalemia and Hypertension

To the Editor: The findings of Dr. Krishna and associates (May 4 issue)¹ about elevation of blood pressure during potassium depletion in normotensive men may have substantial epidemiologic implications, even though the increase in blood pressure was small. The authors suggest that volume expansion may have contributed to the observed increase in blood pressure, but they found no correlation between the amount of sodium retained and the degree of elevation of blood pressure. They concluded that “although the expansion of extracellular fluid may be important, other factors contribute to the elevation in blood pressure induced by potassium depletion.” We agree…