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The Electrocardiogram in Anorexia Nervosa

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Eating Disorders

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Abstract

The electrocardiogram (ECG) provides important information regarding the heart rate and heart rhythm in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). Up to one third of deaths in AN are due to cardiac causes, with a subset of those due to arrhythmia. The ECG is an inexpensive, minimally invasive, and widely accessible screening tool to assess the heart’s electrical activity. Bradycardia occurs widely in AN, with severity correlating to degree of malnutrition and/or low BMI, attributed to impaired autonomic regulation. Changes in the QT interval and other repolarization parameters are less ubiquitous in patients with AN, and their prognostic and therapeutic implications are less clear. However, a growing field of research supports serial ECG monitoring, especially in acutely unwell patients with AN, for both risk assessment and to monitor regression to normal with treatment.

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Abbreviations

AN:

Anorexia nervosa

BN:

Bulimia nervosa

BPM:

Beats per minute

ECG:

Electrocardiogram

HR:

Heart rate

HRV:

Heart rate variability

QTc:

Corrected QT interval

SSRI:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

SUD:

Sudden unexpected death

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hearts in Rhythm Organization, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Mikyla Janzen & Andrew Krahn

  2. Division of Cardiology, Center for Cardiovascular Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Mikyla Janzen, Julia Raudzus & Andrew Krahn

  3. St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Julia Raudzus

Authors
  1. Mikyla Janzen
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  2. Julia Raudzus
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  3. Andrew Krahn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew Krahn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood Patel

  2. Dept Nutrition & Dietetics, King's College London, London, UK

    Victor Preedy

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Janzen, M., Raudzus, J., Krahn, A. (2022). The Electrocardiogram in Anorexia Nervosa. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V. (eds) Eating Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67929-3_37-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67929-3_37-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-67929-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-67929-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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