Atkins widow may sue over release of medical records

THE widow of diet pioneer Dr Robert Atkins was yesterday considering legal action over the release of medical records which showed her husband was obese when he died.

Veronica Atkins was mulling "a number of legal options", a spokesman said, which were understood to include suing the City of New York.

The records, showing Dr Atkins weighed over 18st and had heart problems when he died last April, were released by the city's Medical Examiner's Office "in error".

Dr Atkins died aged 72 from head injuries after slipping on an icy New York footpath.

Amid ongoing controversy about his low-carbohydrate, high protein diet a group called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine obtained Dr Atkins' pathology report and passed it to the Wall Street Journal.

The group opposes the Atkins diet controversial because it can lead to high fat intakes and promotes vegetarianism.

The medical report showed that as well as his obesity, 6ft tall Dr Atkins had a history of heart trouble, congestive heart failure and hypertension.

But Mrs Atkins' spokesman Richard Rothstein said Dr Atkins weighed less than 14st when he was admitted to hospital after his fall.

Dr Atkins retained much of the fluid given to treat him because of medical conditions unrelated to diet, Mr Rothstein said, in a bid to explain the weight gain.

In a statement on the Atkins website, Mrs Atkins said her husband's medical records were "private and of no concern or relevance to the media or general public".

She accused "unscrupulous individuals" of trying to "pervert the truth in an attempt to destroy the reputation and great work of my late husband".

She said he had suffered from a condition called cardiomyopathy, caused by a virus.

"Though this condition significantly weakened his heart, its cause was clearly related to an infection and not his diet."

She went on: "Let me state emphatically that I have been assured by my husband's physicians that my husband's health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet.

"But it has become clear to me that something as simple as the truth will be perverted and manipulated by dishonest individuals who will stop at nothing and will proceed without any regard for medical ethics or the previously private medical history of Dr Atkins in an attempt not only to discredit my husband's work but to profit from his death."

She added: "I look forward to the day when Dr Atkins' soul can rest in peace and I can grieve uninterrupted."

Medical Examiner's Office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said the office had apologised to Mrs Atkins.