Key result
A self-initiated low-carbohydrate, high-protein calorie-restricted diet was associated with severe hypokalemia and sudden fatal cardiorespiratory arrest in a 16-year-old girl.
Why the study?
The relationship between dietary factors and the risk of sudden cardiac death and arrhythmias in adolescents, particularly related to inherited channelopathies, is underrecognized and requires further understanding.
Case Report (n=1)
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May warrant electrolyte monitoring in adolescents on self-directed diets; leaves open broader cardiac risks in prospective studies.
We describe a 16-year-old girl who had sudden onset of cardiorespiratory arrest while at school. She had recently attempted weight loss using a low-carbohydrate/high-protein, calorie-restricted dietary regimen that she had initiated on her own. During resuscitation, severe hypokalemia was noted. At postmortem examination, no other causes for the cardiac arrest were identified. Toxicologic findings were negative. The potential role of the dietary regimen as a contributing factor to the hypokalemia and subsequent cardiac arrest are discussed.
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Stevens et al. (2002) conducted a case report in Sudden cardiorespiratory arrest and severe hypokalemia (n=1). Low-carbohydrate/high-protein, calorie-restricted diet was evaluated on Sudden cardiorespiratory arrest. A self-initiated low-carbohydrate, high-protein calorie-restricted diet was associated with severe hypokalemia and sudden fatal cardiorespiratory arrest in a 16-year-old girl.
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