Expert: Joanne - 7/2/2008

Question
hello

i have a eating disorder and i was wondering i went to the doctors about chest pain the other day and she said i had a heart murmur now i have to go get a ultra sound, could this be due to my eating disorder?
i never had a heart murmur when i was a baby.

Answer
M

Sometimes heart murmurs can be caused by eating disorder, especially if you are severely undernourished.  Your body struggles to maintain the tissues of the heart, which can cause this.

A heart murmur is a abnormal heart sound which is due to turbulent blood flow through the valves of the heart.  The valave can become leaky, or can become narrow,etc.

Sometimes a heart murmur can be minor and cause you no problems, others can be a bit more serious.  Some can be associated with other problems, and whether it is affecting your health and the blood flow around your body will determine whether it is treated, and if so, how.

I don't think that you should worry about whether the eating disorder has caused this or not, but focus on trying to treat it if that is what is needed, and trying to recover from the eating disorder before you cause yourself major health complications.  I'd imagine that being told this would have been scary - think about those feelings, and try to put them into the context of the eating disorder.  Is the eating disorder worth that fear?  Is the eating disorder worth your health?

I would recommend trying to come clean to your doctors and ask for a referral to specialist services.

Joanne