1 A female student suffers from anorexia nervosa One afterno

1) A female student suffers from anorexia nervosa. One afternoon she is rushed to the emergency room because of an irregular heartbeat. Her breath has the smell of an aromatic hydrocarbon (fruity). Blood and urine samples reveal ketonemia and ketonuria, respectively. Why do you think she is having the irregular heartbeat? Helpful hint: As the kidneys excrete excess H+, they reabsorb K+.

Solution

The following events had taken place in the college student which resulted in irregular heart beat: