zuzu8

Hi Loud x Mouth-
You're not stupid at all! Most of us don't know much about potassium, or for that matter the other "salts" (known as electrolytes) in our blood (sodium, magnesium etc), until, like now, we discover that there might me a problem with them.

The normal range for potassium is 3.5- 5.5 mEq/L, so, as the doctors at the hospital said, 2.7 would be low.
It's very possible that if you had an asthma attack, or if your asthma is not being properly controlled, overbreathing or hyperventilating can cause something called alkalosis, where the normal Ph balance of the blood becomes too alkaline. This is called alkalosis. Alkalosis can lead to low potassium over time.

If you want to do some further searches on low potassium, the medical word for it is "hypokalemia". But you came up with some pretty reliable basic info already.

Some medications can deplete potassium, particularly diuretics and beta blockers, often given for people with heart disease, high blood pressure and ASTHMA. Are you on any of these meds?

Also, if you take theophyline for your asthma, that too can cause low potassium.

Your chest pain could be definitely be related and indicate heart issues and you should make an appointment as soon as possible to get a full work-up, plus a simple blood test to determine how your potassium levels are now (This blood test is called an "electrolyte panel"). The muscle cramping could also be related to an electrolyte problem overall, including sodium depletion.

See your doctor...Your potassium definitely needs correction but you need a doc to get to the bottom of it....you may need potassium supplements but do NOT take these without a doctor's supervision!!
In the meantime, here is a link to some foods that are good to eat for potassium:

[url]http://www.*************.com/Potassium.html[/url]

Hope this helped a little...but see your doctor who will tell you what's going on for sure.

zuzu xxx