I have a confession about my life prior to 2013.  In addition to an addiction to adrenaline, I also had a very powerful addiction to sodium.  The things that finally made me go cold turkey on both addictions were a diagnosis of heart failure and the potential for a heart transplant hanging over my head.  I came to the grim realization that giving up both of these long term addictions that had been with me for many years would also strengthen my chances for staying alive with my very own heart in my senior years.

I am helped in my addiction to adrenaline by a powerful drug known as a beta blocker.  Carvedilol stands guard over my heart.  Whenever an adrenaline surge kicks in, the sentry sounds an alarm warning my heart and my entire being that the stress wall is being breached by a very nasty invader.  The ensuing panic makes me do everything possible to kick the adrenaline out and avoid potential heart damage.
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When I was first diagnosed with heart failure, my friends and family thought that I had a big advantage in that was careful about what I ate.  Other than a passion for salt, which I immediately went cold turkey on, my diet was excellent.  I didn’t eat red meat, I followed a low fat diet, and I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. 

So who would have ever dreamed that there was something lurking in fruits and vegetables that could wreak havoc on a heart patient?  Potassium sounds so good for you – how could it cause any harm?
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