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Atkins medical report - should not have gone public

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The cardiologist who is accused of inappropriately getting a report on the death of Dr. Robert Atkins has said he never wanted the report to end up in the media.

According to the New York City medical examiner's office, Dr. Richard Fleming was sent a copy of the report when he asked for it (it was mistakenly sent).

The office thinks that Dr. Richard Fleming then gave it to Physicians for Responsible Medicine and they released the details (a few days ago).

Reports like this are only ever sent to a doctor who had been treating the patient. A spokeswoman for the New York medical examiner said that her department sent a letter to Nebraska health officials. The letter said that Fleming inappropriately got and distributed a copy of its report. Fleming denies this.



Fleming said that he clearly stated he was not a physician who had been treating Dr. Atkins or any family member.

The report contained details about Dr. Atkins weight and his medical history.

According to the report he died a fat man (quite obese). For someone who created a diet for staying slim this information could shock and puzzle people (it could make people think the whole diet is a sham).

He also had a history of heart problems (according to the report). As the Atkins diet claims to help heart conditions this information could further confuse and alarm people.

Fleming said that his interest was purely scientific. He wanted to gain insight into the health effects of the Atkins diet (low carbs, high fat and protein) which millions of people around the world are on. Atkins Diet books have sold over 15m copies.

Fleming said he felt betrayed as the information in the report was intended solely for research and not for the media.

However, Dr. Neal Barnard (President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) insists it was Fleming who took the initiative to contact his staff about the report.

Barnard said that Fleming was well aware that the report was being released to the press.

Barnard said that the intention was to stop the promotion of the Atkins Diet (the intention of releasing the information).

The Atkins Physicians said that Dr. Atkins heart condition was due to a viral infection (not the diet). It also said that he retained a lot of fluid while he was in a coma (for eight days) and this caused his weight to increase.

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