Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics of Study Subjects by Serum Potassium: Augmentation Survey, Baseline 1974–1975

	Serum Potassium (mmol/L)
Characteristic	Low 2.7 to 3.7 (n = 477)	Medium 3.8 to 4.4 (n =1,982)	High 4.5 to 5.4 (n = 377)	P Value (Low vs High)
Age, y	45.6	46.2	49.6	<.0001
Blood pressure, mmHg
Systolic	134	130	130	.001
Diastolic	84.5	83.1	84.3	.48
Pulse pressure	49.4	45.8	46.1	<.0001
Cholesterol, mg/dL	218	220	227	.019
BUN, mg/dL	14.1	14.8	16.0	<.0001
Serum creatinine, mg/dL	0.97	1.01	1.04	.014
Male, %	31.9	45.7	53.1	<.0001
African American, %	9.2	8.2	9.5	.40
Alcohol use, %	23.7	32.2	32.4	.008
Diuretic use in past 30 days, %	21.3	7.7	7.0	<.0001
History of CVD*, %	5.2	4.9	8.8	<.0001
History of renal disease, %	10.8	7.3	8.6	.10
Abnormal renal function†, %	13.2	12.8	18.8	.011
Smoker, %	29.0	33.4	39.5	.001

^*Including past history of myocardial infarction, stroke, and congestive heart failure.

^†Blood urea nitrogen>20 mg/dL and/or serum creatinine>1.2 mg/dL for females and>1.6 mg/dL for males.

BUN indicates blood urea nitrogen; CVD, cardiovascular disease.