Hyponatremia is defined as what?

Hyponatremia is defined as what?

• A. Decreased sodium in the blood because there is too much water
• B. Increased sodium in the blood due to dehydration
• C. Low potassium due to sweating
• D. Low calcium due to poor intake

Answer: (A)

Hyponatremia occurs when the concentration of sodium in the blood falls because there is too much water relative to sodium. Sodium helps regulate the body’s fluid balance, so when you have excess free water diluting the sodium, the plasma sodium level drops. That’s why the correct description is decreased sodium in the blood due to there being too much water. The other ideas refer to different situations: increasing sodium with dehydration points to hypernatremia, low potassium from sweating is hypokalemia, and low calcium from poor intake is hypocalcemia.

Hyponatremia occurs when the concentration of sodium in the blood falls because there is too much water relative to sodium. Sodium helps regulate the body’s fluid balance, so when you have excess free water diluting the sodium, the plasma sodium level drops. That’s why the correct description is decreased sodium in the blood due to there being too much water.

The other ideas refer to different situations: increasing sodium with dehydration points to hypernatremia, low potassium from sweating is hypokalemia, and low calcium from poor intake is hypocalcemia.