Research
Hormonal
High-dose tirzepatide (15 mg weekly) can induce severe gastrointestinal side effects (prolonged vomiting and diarrhea) leading to profound electrolyte imbalances (hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia), which precipitate life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest.
If you are on 15mg tirzepatide and have persistent vomiting or diarrhea, do not ignore it. Ask your doctor to check your potassium, magnesium, and calcium levels immediately. Severe GI loss can trigger dangerous heart rhythms even if you have no prior heart history.
WeakSupportsLOW confidence
After her dose was increased to 15 mg, she developed severe GI symptoms, including prolonged vomiting and diarrhea, leading to profound electrolyte imbalances (K⁺ 2.2, Mg²⁺ 1.1, and corrected Ca²⁺ 5.6) and ultimately resulting in ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest.
Why this rating
Single case report; no control group; observational association with strong temporal causality but low generalizability.
Source
Life-Threatening Ventricular Fibrillation Linked to High-Dose Tirzepatide-Induced Gastrointestinal Side Effects
Thirumala Keerthi Chandrika Kammaripalle et al. · Cureus · 2025
DOI 10.7759/cureus.85366
case_report · n=1Cited 1×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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