Expert: Joanne - 3/27/2007

Question
I am doing a health and social care course in college, and feel very strongly about helping people with anorexia.  I am trying to find a link between heart disease and anorexia, and how the heart is affected.  I have not had much luck in finding information so far.  Any help you could give me, I would be very grateful for.

Answer
Hi, I hope this will be useful!

Taken from:  http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/how_serious_anorexia_nervosa_000049_5.htm


Heart Disease

Heart disease is the most common medical cause of death in people with severe anorexia. The effects of anorexia on the heart are as follows:

Dangerous heart rhythms, including slow rhythms known as bradycardia, may develop. Such abnormalities can show up even in teenagers with anorexia.

Blood flow is reduced.

Blood pressure may drop.

The heart muscles starve, losing size.

Cholesterol levels tend to rise.

A primary danger to the heart is from abnormalities in the balance of minerals, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, which are normally dissolved in the body's fluid. The dehydration and starvation that occurs with anorexia can reduce fluid and mineral levels and produce a condition known as electrolyte imbalance . Electrolytes of calcium and potassium are critical for maintaining the electric currents necessary for a normal heart beat. An imbalance in these electrolytes, then, can be very serious and even life-threatening unless fluids and minerals are replaced. Heart problems are a particular risk when anorexia is compounded by bulimia and the use of ipecac, a drug that causes vomiting.





The main problems are the decrease in muscle size!  This will make it less effective at pumping the blood around the body and accounts for the low blood pressure.  And another large worry is the loss of potassium in those that purge as that can cause fatal arrhythmias!

All the best
Holly