Washington - Jody Gorran was proud of his 32 inch waistline. Then, he found out during a heart scan that an artery had become almost entirely blocked during the two years that he was on Atkins.

Lisa Huskey was also happy about the Atkins diet for her and her 16 year old daughter, Rachel, until Rachel dropped dead from a heat arrhythmia in class.

Both claim the high fat, high protein approach advocated in the Atkins diet is to blame.

"What I contend is that the Atkins diet gave me heart disease," Gorran said during a news conference sponsored by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The Atkins diet with its radical approach based on the idea that carbohydrates make people fat, has sparked both admiration and debate.

The diet induces a metabolic change called ketosis during the initial stringent break-in period. Dieters are told to favor fats and meats while shunning carbohydrates.

The body, overloaded on fat and protein, theoretically breaks down fat cells for energy and sheds pounds of water as it struggles to get rid of toxic breakdown products.

Studies have shown that like many diets, Atkins can help people lose weight.

However, many doctors and the American Heart Association have repeatedly warned that the Atkins approach could be dangerous because it is too high in fat and protein without enough fiber and vitamins.

"Anyone who has even been on this diet can tell you they spend the first few days in the bathroom urinating," said Dr. Paul Robinson, director of adolescent medicine at the University of Missouri hospital, where Rachel Huskey was taken.

Water is shed by the body to clear out the breakdown products from fat in the diet, Dr. Robinson said at the news conference. Because this process pulls calcium and potassium from the blood, there is danger.

Robinson said that Rachel's calcium and potassium levels were abnormally low. "These are very important electrolytes in regulating heatbeat." Robinson went on to say, "adolescents, particularly, should not go on this diet, until there is more research." Robinson has published a paper in the Southern Medical Journal about the case.

Dr. Richard Fleming, a cardiologist who has studied high-fat diets, attacked the premise that carbohydrates make people fatter than other food. He said the high fat content of Atkins could worsen heart disease through raised cholesterol and inflamed arteries.