Sudden cardiac death in association with the ketogenic diet.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case series of two clinical cases
PubMed 19027591 · doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2008.08.013
What was done
Detailed reporting of two pediatric cases of children treated with a ketogenic diet for refractory epilepsy who developed severe cardiac complications.
What was found
In Case 1, a child died of complications related to torsade de pointes with documented QT prolongation, and post-mortem examination revealed selenium-deficiency cardiomyopathy. In Case 2, a child experienced QT prolongation on the ketogenic diet and later died suddenly at home. Both children had documented selenium deficiency. No group-level statistics or other numerical outcomes were reported.
Why it matters
These cases highlight a potential link between the ketogenic diet, selenium deficiency, QT prolongation, and fatal cardiac events, suggesting baseline and periodic cardiac and nutritional monitoring may be warranted.
Limits
This report is limited to two individual case studies (n = 2) with no control group, preventing determination of incidence, causality, or population-level risk.
Cited by
- supports Poorly formulated ketogenic diets have led to selenium deficiency and fatal cardiomyopathy in published case reports.