Cardiac Arrest and Kidney Stones

wabmester

Oh, that got your attention, didn't it?

Way back when I first joined this board, I read about those two side-effects of keto in the scientific literature. Quite a puzzle.

Selenium deficiency was blamed for the heart problems:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19027591

I thought it might be due to keto-induced metabolic acidosis and mineral loss. Hmm.

This puzzle piece just fell into place (h/t George Henderson). Selenium loss is a side-effect of an epilepsy med:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6435012

And kidney stones? I got one. I was LC, but I was also running a lot. And it was in the summer.

Maybe dehydration?

But what about all those keto kids who were getting kidney stones like crazy?

Dehydration!

The standard keto protocol included fluid restriction:
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ert/2011/963637/

Why? Because they found the kids would have seizures if they didn't restrict fluids.

Why? Maybe because fluids dilute blood sodium levels. And low sodium levels can induce seizures.

So they found a band-aid that would help kids retain sodium: fluid restriction. Side-effect: kidney stones.

kpk54

Got my attention since I had a heart attack in October and am now dealing with kidney issues also.

I finally start cardiac rehab today (had some complications/tweaking after the heart attack) and will likely see Duke cardiologist #8 😕 today. In a couple weeks I have another appointment with the Electrophysiologists and will have an extended opportunity to inquire about the QT and other values on my EKG. I've got all the results of the past EKGS but am not comfortable interpreting the results.

Thanks for posting....

wabmester

Hope you recover quickly.

I think docs like to distinguish between "heart attack" and "cardiac arrest." The former is due to a blockage (typically from a blood clot), while the latter is due to electrical/rhythm problems.

kpk54

wabmester wrote: »

Hope you recover quickly.

I think docs like to distinguish between "heart attack" and "cardiac arrest." The former is due to a blockage (typically from a blood clot), while the latter is due to electrical/rhythm problems.

Well I'm not sure what I had then. I had a blood clot (thus a blockage) caused by Atrial Fibrillation, a rhythm disorder. "Pipes" as they call them are not "clogged". I have since (not initially) gotten a pacemaker because my heart rate was dropping too low both with and without meds then had a heart ablation because meds for the a-fib were ineffective as determined through the pacemaker interrogation.

ccrdragon

@wabmester, Thanks for the info! I have had kidney stones in the past (several times), but since starting low-carb/keto have not had a single one. I believe that is due to a couple of reasons: (1) I drink water like a camel now, (2) I eat salt like it's candy and (3) since I like a variety of greens, I rotate thru them now and don't eat spinach several times a week.

@kpk54 - sorry to hear about the health issues... my father got a pacemaker last December for the same reason. He passed out at home and while they had him in the hospital looking for reasons as to why he passed out (including monitoring his heart) his heart rate dropped so low the nurses thought he had died in his room - he was in surgery less than an hour later getting the pacemaker.