Colorado High School XC runner dies during run

HIgh School XC Coach wrote:

Lets be honest the system that we use in this country for high school athletes physical's is a joke. Most schools bring in doctors who take your height, weight, look at your eyes, make you cough and send you on your way. I think that the sports physicals should entail a lot more than they do now and that doctors should be held responsible until they do.

That would be a colossal waste of resources.

Some medical history could catch a lot of higher risk, but in some cardiac related deaths it would take very expensive testing to find them.

Sorry, but running 1 million CT scans to catch 1 or 2 deaths is not a good use of medical resources.

There's no way you could give an EKG to every high school cross country runner. It's terrible for this kid and his family, but broadly speaking, the health benefits from physical activity well offset the risk of uncovering a congenital heart defect.

"One common cardiovascular disease that has similar EKG reads is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by the thickening of the heart's walls. This genetic disorder is found in 1 out of 500 Americans and is responsible for thousands of sudden death cases every year. Of all sudden death cases, only about 8% are exercise related"

and also

"Much attention in the press has been focussed on young athletes who die suddenly whilst training as a consequence of sudden cardiac death. A great deal of time and money is being spent on researching these cases and in implicating schemes to screen young athletes to prevent their occurrence. It must be stressed however that these cases are rare compared to the hundreds who die each year of coronary artery atheroma and left ventricular hypertrophy. They have been subject to disproportionate media attention due to their involvement of young persons and the rapidity of the death."

What you didn't read about is how 1,260 people died from heart attacks yesterday, many of which would have been preventable with regular exercise.

Also, for some humor and perspective:

http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2008/06/non-runner-dies.html

All I am saying is that the way they are tested with these huge physicals at high schools is not a good system. Mainly because of the fact that they are done at schools and not at doctors offices where the medical history is present. Most of the doctors sign off having no ability to look at the medical history. As far as blaming the doctors I blame them because as a doctor who is signing off saying the athlete can compete they should at least look at the medical history. In my state we have had two athletes in the past year dye who had physicals but when looked at after the fact doctors all said oh yeah he shouldn't have been playing. He had so and so in their medical history.

Also would people please learn that alot is not a word.

David Kimani was a Kenyan who had a sudden cardiac death, although it was not on a run.

Yea but he was in shape his 5k was a little better than 28:43 Einstein!

If your sooo hung up on alot not being a word, I have just one question for you what color where those two athletes of yours dyed!? HA!

douglas burke wrote:

it has happened, also not kenyan but ethiopian womens junior 1500 champ and the fiance of k. bekele died on a run.

and also not kenyan but i think the guys name was jeff drenth who was one of the better american runners,

That was due to artificially thickened blood sadly.

They've been careful since.

I've never seen one of these "huge physicals" you speak of but I'd imagine they're done with the intent of allowing students who can't afford healthcare to compete. Just being at the doctor's office is not going to mean these kids have a complete "history" available. It's up to each doctor to develop a verbal history at the physical. If the schools aren't having families fill out written health histories that is a problem.

Do you know anything more about the nature of the other two fatalities that were diagnosed in hindsight? Could they really have been found through a better screening?

This happens multiple times in multiple sports every year.

Always sad and always shocking as it never seems to be anyone who was particularly struggling or different from the rest.

You're saying a 28:43 5k isn't "particularly struggling"??

The times from the rest of the field indicates this was not an easy course.

Seems he was an 8 min/mile guy on a hilly course.

I believe he was a 15 year old, special ed student. But not sure how fast he runs has anything to do with it?

After looking back they have said that with their medical history they should have had other tests done but they weren't. In both instances the parents filled out the history but the doctors just don't take time to loo at it. I have a member of my team who has a heart murmur and has to do extra testing every year because of it. The point I am trying to make is that pushing high school athletes through physicals like cattle is not the best system. Yes it is probably making it so that athletes that can't afford them can play. I would suspect though that the athletes that can't afford it probably have medical care through the government. Most states have programs for children up to age 18 if their parents can't afford insurance.

It's allways amazing that one little detail never stops people of this site from knowing everything about a situation or commenting like they do. The little detail is FACTS. How about everyone be respectful and STFU until the details of the situation are out....

You dont see kenyans running 28 minute 5ks. If they did, they would probably drop dead too.

My kids school requires a full cardiac work up to participate in most sports. You are correct, many heart conditions are difficult to detect. My daughter's was found after a hospital stay for something unrelated. I'm very grateful because she not only runs cross but swims and runs the distance events in track.

running is better wrote:

some dangerous heart problems are hard to detect as well. remember ryan shay's case.

scary and tragic when this happens. i wish those that knew him all the best.

HIgh School XC Coach wrote:

Lets be honest the system that we use in this country for high school athletes physical's is a joke. Most schools bring in doctors who take your height, weight, look at your eyes, make you cough and send you on your way. I think that the sports physicals should entail a lot more than they do now and that doctors should be held responsible until they do.

I don't understand this mentality at all - the idea that all bad things that happen in this world can be prevented.

And furthermore the belief that "systems" and governments and regulations are the things that will create this perfect world in which all bad things are prevented???

And that we have to place blame on someone or something everything bad things happen????

People who hold these views seem so incredibly far removed from the real world.

^^^^^^^^^^

def in Top 3 Let's Run scumbags;immeasurably self-deluded; never gets laid; what a "community"

So you're saying football is as safe as running.