US sudden cardiac death rate linked to high potassium rose
After accounting for age, the rate rose from 0.65 deaths per 100,000 in 1999 to 1.32 in 2020 in US mortality records.
Clinical Cardiology
Researchers analysed mortality records for people in the US from 1999 to 2020 in a cross-sectional observational study. They identified 36,607 deaths with sudden cardiac death recorded as the underlying cause and hyperkalemia, or high blood potassium, as a contributing cause. They adjusted death rates to account for differences in age.
The national rate was stable from 1999 to 2009, then rose from 2010 to 2020. Men, Black people and residents of the South and Midwest had the highest rates and steepest increases. Rural areas consistently had higher rates than urban areas. Most deaths occurred in older adults, but rates also rose among adults aged 25–44 in the last decade.
Why it matters
High blood potassium can be life-threatening, particularly for older adults with other health conditions. The authors called for better potassium monitoring, risk assessment and equitable healthcare access to reduce preventable deaths.
Caveats
The cross-sectional analysis relied on coded causes of death, so it could not establish causation. The records included younger adults as well as older adults.
The paper
University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine
Clinical Cardiology · 1 Oct 2026
