SILENT KILLER
What did Jason Collier, Reggie Lewis, and Damien Nash all have in common? While all were professional athletes, they also each suffered from variations of the heart disorder known as “silent heart disease,” a condition frequently diagnosed in young athletes that commonly results in death.
In the early nineties, when Silent Heart Disease struck Hank Gathers of Loyola University, athletic officials pushed for more regular heart testing amongst athletes. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17971296. Ischemia, as it’s scientifically known, is accompanied by chest pains and discomfort while breathing. Roughly 3 to 4 million Americans suffer ischemic attacks without ever knowing it and have little to no warning signs of the condition. “Silent ischemia,” is the variety that has taken so many athletes’ lives.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
lulz, serves those jocks rigt getting themselves all pumpd ton roids. Thxbyenjoyurdeth.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I don’t know who you are, dude, but that’s f’ed up. Seriously. These people are dying, and we don’t even have a good answer about why they are dying until after the fact and we don’t know how common this really is. These people are having kids, too, and that means these bad genes are gonna just keep getting more common.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
so you don’t think people with “bad genes” should procreate?
January 24th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
My brother wasn’t on steroids.
Jared Collier