Anorexia patients face higher risks of heart problems

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-12-20 03:00

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People with anorexia nervosa face higher risks of heart problems than the general population, according to international researchers who say different heart risks pop up at different times. The researchers matched about 2000 anorexia nervosa patients with 20,000 people of a similar demographic without the condition, and followed up over several years looking at major heart incidents such as heart failure, stroke or a heart attack, as well as a range of other heart conditions. The researchers say over the study, 4.8% of the anorexia patients had a major heart problem compared to 0.08% of the participants without anorexia, and 6% of anorexia patients had any heart problem compared to 2.3%. The researchers say increased risks for congestive heart failure, conduction disorder, and structural heart disease for anorexia patients disappeared after five years of follow-up, however at five years, anorexia patients developed a higher risk of ischemic heart disease.