Question:medium
Aldosterone synthesis is stimulated by which of the following?
Aldosterone synthesis is stimulated by which of the following?
Show Hint
Aldosterone excretes potassium, so high potassium is its strongest trigger.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- ACTH
- Hyperkalemia
- Hypernatremia
- Exogenous steroids
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Ask what aldosterone is for - it conserves sodium and dumps potassium. So the body should release it most strongly when potassium is high.
Step 2: Rank the stimuli: $hyperkalemia > angiotensin\ II > ACTH > hyponatremia$. The top of this list is hyperkalemia, the most powerful and physiologically important trigger.
Step 3: Eliminate the rest. ACTH gives only a weak diurnal effect; hypernatremia is the opposite of the real cue (low sodium stimulates aldosterone, not high sodium); exogenous steroids feed back to suppress endogenous secretion.
Step 4: The correct answer is the potassium-driven stimulus.\[\boxed{\text{Hyperkalemia}}\]
Step 2: Rank the stimuli: $hyperkalemia > angiotensin\ II > ACTH > hyponatremia$. The top of this list is hyperkalemia, the most powerful and physiologically important trigger.
Step 3: Eliminate the rest. ACTH gives only a weak diurnal effect; hypernatremia is the opposite of the real cue (low sodium stimulates aldosterone, not high sodium); exogenous steroids feed back to suppress endogenous secretion.
Step 4: The correct answer is the potassium-driven stimulus.\[\boxed{\text{Hyperkalemia}}\]
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