Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy main cause for sudden deaths in Sports followed by murders
Death is a part of life and even though it is extremely rare, it is also a part of sports. There have been quite a few sudden deaths in sports and others that were not so sudden. The sudden deaths seem to be caused by sudden failure of the heart muscle by various means. The not so sudden deaths can be attributed to murder the cold blooded kind. In looking at the different types of deaths that have occurred in sports is there something we can learn from them to help other sports persons not go through the same fate?
There have been a fair few number of athletes who have suddenly and without warning fallen to their deaths while engaged in the sport they played. The cause of this seems to be a condition of the heart that has athletes falling to their deaths on the field of play. The condition, which has a complicated medical name, is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and it is basically when there is sudden swelling of the left ventricle of the heart which causes the player to have a heart attack and most of the time they die as a result. This is not very common though with the chances of an athlete having this condition being very rare since they are usually in good shape. Yet due to the nature of sports and because of the fact that the sport is being shown to sometimes millions of fans, a player is under a lot of stress, hence when a player does die because of this heart condition it is very noticeable.
This exact thing happened to a Croatian footballer who had a heart attack on the pitch and fell to the ground. The referee at the time thought he was diving and booked him by giving him a yellow card only to then realise that something was wrong with the player and he was rushed to hospital. He did not survive. This incident just shows us that even though uncommon, when it does happen it is devastating. The match was abandoned and the teams sent home.
Another similar incident took place when Cameroonian footballer Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed during the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. The footballer died of the same condition of the inflamed left ventricle of his heart and even though emergency staff tried to revive him he passed away. This footballer was remembered in a huge state funeral in his home country of Cameroon.
The way to prevent this condition taking place is only through screening. Doctors suggest screening an adult athlete every 4 years is advisable and taking a complete medical and family history of an athlete to check for any issues that might spring up later. It always helps to have an athlete fully tested and have their medical records and files on hand with the medical staff of the sports team. They should all be aware of the potential for a problem to occur and be ready if a problem does occur with the athlete.
There is another type of death that happens in sports and this type is a lot darker and full of evil. Even though it is rarer than a heart condition causing an athlete to die on the field, murder does happen in sports and the reasons are often very horrible and tragic. One such incident that was particularly devastating was the murder in 1994 of the Colombian defender Andres Escobar. He was playing in the national team that had allegedly been funded by the Colombian drug Mafia and in the 94 World Cup match when Colombia played against the USA, he inadvertently scored an own goal and his side lost. He was shot because of it after exiting a bar in his home town. It was said that the murder had ties to the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar but this fact has never been proven. This incident sticks in the minds of those that saw the match and were part of that World Cup. It shows that the world of sports is at times linked to criminal organisations that can kill to get what they want.
Hopefully as deaths in sports are rare we won’t be seeing any for a long time to come. It is extremely sad when an otherwise healthy athlete collapses to the floor and dies or an athlete is murdered in cold blood by a criminal organisation. Deaths on the pitch with some planning and medical screening can be minimised even further. It will be a great day when we can say that the only time athletes die are when they are old and grey.
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