Statement on the Status of Dr. Robert C.
Atkins' Health From Dr. Atkins and From the Chief
Executive Officer/President of the Atkins
Companies
Thursday April 25, 2002
Press Release
SOURCE: The Atkins Companies
NEW YORK, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday
April 18, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the well-known
nutrition expert and best selling author, did, in
fact, experience cardiac arrest during breakfast.
He was quickly revived by an associate and taken
to the hospital. As this was not a heart attack
(or myocardial infarction), but a cardiac arrest
related to an infection of the heart he has been
suffering from for a few years. Dr. Atkins
experienced a speedy recovery and was released
from the hospital on Wednesday, April 24. In fact,
Dr. Atkins hopes to return to his
responsibilities, including local speaking
engagements and as chairman of the Dr. Robert C.
Atkins Foundation, within the next week or so. His
doctors have advised him to curtail his travel
plans for the next 30 days as a precautionary
measure.
The cause of this event was cardiomyopathy, not
blocked arteries. Over the last couple of years,
Dr. Atkins has had an infection of the heart
muscle (called the myocardium) contracted during
an overseas trip. Coupled with the extreme heat
conditions of mid-April here in New York, the
71-year old Dr. Atkins suffered this event.
``We have been treating this condition,
cardiomyopathy, for almost two years,'' explains
Patrick Fratellone MD, Dr. Atkins' personal
physician and cardiologist, ``and during the
course of diagnosis, we discovered that Dr.
Atkins' coronary arteries were normal as diagnosed
by an angiogram performed at Columbia Presbyterian
Hospital on the upper west side of New York City
in April of 2001. Clearly, his own nutritional
protocols have left him, at the age of 71, with an
extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system.
Unfortunately, the infection-related
cardiomyopathy is totally another matter.''
``I have had cardiomyopathy, which is a
non-coronary condition and is in no way related to
diet,'' says Dr. Atkins.
Cardiac arrest is an event in which the heart
abruptly stops. It is not the same thing as heart
attack in which the heart is severely deprived of
oxygen but still beating. Certainly a heart attack
(or myocardial infarction) is one of the known
causes of cardiac arrest, but there are several
others that have nothing to do with blocked
arteries and other problems typically associated
with a heart attack.
Cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart's
ability to pump blood is weakened because of
enlargement, thickening or stiffening of the heart
muscle. In Dr. Atkins' case, this cardiomyopathy
was caused by an infection that spread to his
heart muscle.
``Up until today, this has been a personal and
private family matter for Dr. Atkins. It is
unfortunate for the family that it has not
remained so,'' said Paul Wolff, Chief Executive
Officer/President of The Atkins Companies. ``The
Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) is based on
controlled carbohydrate nutritional science and
has helped millions of people achieve their goals
of weight loss, weight maintenance, good health
and increased energy for the past 30 years.''
http://www.atkins.com
SOURCE: The Atkins Companies |
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