Why Are They Dying?

[rodriguezpoultry]

I just can't understand it.

My friend, Kjell Tovander passed away Nov. 16, 2008. He was running in the Route 66 Race in Tulsa, OK. He collapsed, they claimed it was a heart problem. Kjell was going to graduate from MIT and join the Naval forces as an engineer, just under the First Mate. He was in a much healthier position than he was all through high school. He ran 5 miles per day.
http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=9359359

Today, another runner passed away in the same marathon.
http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13545397

Why is this happening?! I want to just cry for Kjell's mom as well as the family of the runner whose name is still unknown.

I just can't understand it...I know there is nothing I can do about it, but...I suppose I'm just venting. Just barely 2 years have passed...so sad.

 

[Boyd]

well to give you some perspective at 29 years old, I was in peak physical condition. Best endurance and strength I've ever known. Mini-Stroke right before my 30th birthday and it's been a slow slide since. These things happen. Given the situation with your friends I do offer my deepest condolences and I know what it's like to get hit like that when you least expect it, and deserve it. Much hugs kiddo.

 

[Mattemma]

Very sorry for the death of their loved ones. My stepdad was 34 when he died.He was a soccer player most of his life until injury changed his course. I recall the autopsy said he had the heart of a 70 year old. Very sad.

 

[bargain]

My prayers are with you. It is always shocking when someone in peak conditions (from the eyes appearance) passes away....We just never know about when...But I ramble, my prayers and thoughts are with you and the bereaved. Nancy

 

[annie3001]

many hugs. sorry your having to endure these sudden passings.

 

[welsummerchicks]

It is such a sad thing to hear of, and even sadder when it happens to a dear friend.

The runner who died in 2008 was a top student who touched many, many lives. There is now an athletic award given in his honor.

There have been some challenges from the community, that emergency aid does not arrive quickly enough at that race. But in the case of one death, there were several medical personnel (doctors and nurses) running along next to the runner. That runner received CPR within seconds of having a problem. But CPR will only buy time or save some, not all.

It sounds like you doubt he had a heart condition? 'They claim'?

There are a great many heart conditions that go undetected. Some, because young folks often don't get detailed physicals, some, because certain conditions are just hard to detect. Some...because much of the time, even when tested, a diseased heart can appear to be healthy.

And sometimes...because the person chooses knowing there are risks, how he wants to live his life. That's precious little consolation for a grieving friend or family.

Ryan Shay was 28 and collapsed at the 5 1/2 mile point in an Olympic trial race. When Ryan was 14, when Ryan had already been running seriously for a year or two, his doctor found Ryan had an enlarged heart - not the usual adaptation to exercise, I take it, but a pathological enlargement. The doctor was concerned and stated that it needed to be monitored. Ryan's father also stated that a few months before the tragedy, a doctor told Ryan he would need a pacemaker in the future.

Ryan's coach stated he knew nothing about any of this. His coach and his team mates said during training, he never complained of any pain, arhythmia or anything that would suggest a heart problem. Ryan Shay had both an enlarged heart that he had known about for fourteen years, and a problem with the rhythm his heart beat in that he had been warned of several months before the tragedy. It appears that he chose to go ahead with intense marathon training, knowing all of that.

Ryan's father seemed to know about the problems, but in interviews, wasn't asked if he tried to stop Ryan. My own thought is that a young athlete like Ryan often wouldn't listen to a parent's worries.

I think each situation is probably different. I'm sure some people really do not know they have a heart condition. While heart disease causes many sudden deaths, some heart conditions listed on the registry are very hard to detect - Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, Long QT Syndrome, Brugada Syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. In other cases it is exercise-induced coronary spasm, a heart block or asystole.

My dad had a complete A-V nodal block. His heart tested out completely normal. The trouble was in the nerves that signal the heart.

Some causes are unrelated to heart - the registry lists exercise-induced asthma and respiratory arrest, exercise-induced anaphylaxis, sarcoidosis, malignant hyperthermia, heat stroke, sickle cell trait, gastrointestinal bleeding, and others.

The registry for sudden death in athletes, has links to many articles and statistics. About the only thing anyone can offer a grieving friend, other than heartfelt sympathies. What a terrible shame to lose a beloved friend.

www.suddendeathathletes.org

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

JIm Fixx. Long time ago, fitness guru, runner, very adamant about fitness and diet. Dropped over of a heart attack at a very young age. No one seems to know for sure if he was such a health nut because he knew something was wrong and he was trying to fix it or if it took him by surprise..... Sure took alot of the general public by surprise.

The head of the Naval Academy (forget his name) incredibly fit running around the base and he keeled over.

I was a runner, martial artist, health nut. Suddenly I started fainting. I would drop like a rock for no apparent reason. It turns out that I had a nerve condition that made my heart rate drop precipitously after exertion. I went in for a stress test and ran uphill with no problems. The nurse said, "We don't see anything wrong." And she stopped the treadmill. I stopped running and immediately passed out.

Then I had a mild heart attack during labor.

The human body is a strange thing sometimes. It is astonishing that it works at all.

I am 47 now. Many people (most really) in my family are dead before 70. I try very hard to do what I can to fight that, but live my life as if it will be fairly short.....

Exercise is not a cure all. Fit people who "push through the pain" without ever checking to see if the pain is abnormal are often the victims.

I am truly sorry for your friends. I am truly sorry for your loss.