Learned a little more about "potassium imbalance" yesterday. It seems it can occur during a struggle and can affect the heart.
During the struggle, not only do the levels of the catecholamines increase in the blood but so do blood potassium concentrations. The increase may be as much a 5 mEq/l or more in some individuals. Following cessation of exercise, there is an immediate, rapid drop in blood potassium to concentrations that approach 2 mEq/l. Five minutes after cessation of the exercise potassium levels may be lower than when they were at rest. There may be a prolonged hypokalemia lasting 90 min or more.
These extremes in potassium concentrations can have cardiac arrhythmogenic effects. The arrhythmogenic effects of the hyperkalemia, however, are neutralized by the cardioprotective effect of the elevated levels of catecholamines.
Thus the danger time for arrhythmias is immediately following cessation of physical activity, when blood catecholamine concentrations continue to rise while potassium levels drop dramatically to hypokalemia levels. This period has been referred to by Dimsdale et al. as the time of post-exercise peril, in that there is a risk of cardiac arrhythmias during this period.
Forensic pathology, 2nd ed., Vincent J. DiMaio and Dominick Di Maio. Chapter 22...Sudden Death During or Immediately after a Violent Struggle. (p 500-501)
5,214 posted on 09/22/2003 10:27 AM EDT by syriacus (Prankin' Al Franken....says he didn't lie to Ashcroft. His letter was only a prank. A Frankenprank?)