Weight loss is well known to improve cardiovascular health. Its benefits are widespread including reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, improving clinical outcomes in diabetic and hypertensive patients and mobility in osteoarthritis patients. A well-planned weight-loss program has many benefits; however, one should be careful when trying to lose weight too rapidly, especially when that involves radical weight-loss products or regimes. We present a possible case of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) associated with a ketone-based weight-loss product in an overweight but otherwise healthy 44-year-old Indo-Caribbean male. The patient presented to the Emergency Department with palpitations and an ECG demonstrating SVT at 221 beats per minute (BPM). He was converted to sinus rhythm with adenosine, started on beta-blockers, and treated with intravenous fluids, which led to a positive outcome. This patient had no major risk factors for SVT development other than starting an intense weight-loss regime with a ketone-based weight-loss product a few days before the development of the tachyarrhythmia. Our aim is to explore the possibility of this ketone-based weight product contributing to the development of SVT in our patient and to discuss the implications of these products on cardiac health.
Keywords: arrhythmia; diet; ketones; supraventricular tachycardia; tachyarrhythmia; vigorous exercise; weight loss.
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