#heart-failure

#heart-failure

As he got older, the symptoms like irregular heartbeat worsened. Balmes worked construction in Orlando, Florida, and assumed his job was partly to blame for his exhaustion. By the time he hit 30, Balmes noticed he was often short of breath when he tried to keep up with his young daughter. He had also gained weight and felt bloated. When the symptoms became too severe to ignore, he wound up in the emergency room.

'I was in a hospital. My heart's only beating like 25 percent, but as long as I stay focused and stay on the right path, everything will be all right.' It's a more optimist outlook than he gave in a recent IG Live, when he said doctors gave him months left to live. 'I thought... I could handle all the alcohol, I could handle all the Adderall, I could handle all the drugs, but I couldn't,' he said.

There is some evidence from observational studies to suggest that low plasma potassium levels are associated with increased risk of dangerous alterations in heart rhythms and that potassium levels in the upper normal level have protective effects.