The death of our beloved movie superstar Puneeth Rajkumar stunned his fans. A person who was so physically fit suddenly passing away was a shock to all, and just as confusing.
How does someone who is so physically fit die so suddenly?
Surprisingly, this phenomenon is not something new. Athletes dropping dead during a game is well heard of. The world of football has seen many.
I thought I would touch upon, in brief, why young and fit individuals die suddenly, and what steps you could take to screen yourself and pick any warning signs up early.
Definitions
Young athletes could be any age, though for the purposes of this discussion, we will have 2 categories – those below 35 years, and those above.
Similarly, there are those who are competitive athletes i.e. those who participate in competitions with a goal to win, and those who are recreational athletes who exercise for fitness and fun.
How Common Is Sudden Death In Young Athletes?
In young athletes, statistics suggest that sudden death occurs in around 1 in 1 lakh individuals a year. In older athletes, this is around 1 in 7000.
However, these are not hard facts but rather estimates.
Causes Of Sudden Death
I have listed below some of the common causes of sudden death in athletes.
1. Alteration In The Heart Structure
Sometimes, the heart is not built the way it should be. There may be problems with how the muscle is built, or there may be a problem with how the electrical wiring is within the heart muscle tissue.
These changes in structure can lead to the heart beating in an extremely fast and erratic manner.
For example, some athletes may develop a ventricular tachyarrhythmia, or an irregular, fast beating of the bottom chamber of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation is one such life-threatening rhythm problem where the heart beats in a disorganized manner at a rate that exceeds 400 beats a minute.
Similarly, the heart may beat at an exceedingly slow rate, or even flatline.
Other reasons include holes in the heart that were not detected at birth.
A sudden tear of the largest blood vessel in the body, called aorta, can also lead to sudden death.
2. Coronary Disease – Heart Artery Blockages
