What Causes Metabolic Alkalosis?
Heart Failure

An individual in heart failure may develop metabolic alkalosis as a complication. A heart failure patient has a heart that cannot pump blood around their body to all of their organs effectively. This impairment directly affects the amount of blood that reaches the tissues of the kidneys. This reduced renal blood flow causes problems with how the kidneys balance and excrete electrolytes and water. This mechanism produces activation of numerous responses by the brain, causing the release of certain hormones. These hormones produce a chain reaction of adverse effects on the electrolyte and cardiovascular homeostasis through interference with the normal pH stabilizing functionality of the kidneys. This process causes the loss of hydrogen ions and the reabsorption of bicarbonate in an affected individual's body, which increases the pH of their blood. Metabolic alkalosis of this nature is not an uncommon complication of heart failure.