exertion-related stories
Cause of death in for UCF football player
Finally, autopsy results are in for University of Central Florida football player Ereck Plancher, who died during spring drills in March -- see previous post here. The cause of death: A pre-existing medical condition worsened by physical stress.The Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said Plancher, 19, had a sickle cell trait that caused problems with his red blood cells during physical exertion. Apparently, Plancher's heart began beating abnormally, and blood flow to the wide receiver's muscles and organs slowed or stopped. There was no evidence of trauma or illegal drugs or toxins in Plancher's body.
UCF school official says the health of students is top priority. And they may need to do a little investigating -- about a month after Plancher's death, the Orlando Sentinel reported that a group of anonymous students indicated the football player was struggling during practice, that perhaps the coach was singling out Plancher for not trying hard enough. The coach and the school say the newspaper's report is false.
Hunting: Bad for deer, bad for your heart
The closest I've ever been to hunting was seeing my brother accidentally shoot a squirrel with a BB gun in our backyard. It was pretty horrifying, especially since he only meant to scare it away from the bird feeder. Despite living near expansive wilderness, I've never had the urge to hunt, but I know a few people who enjoy it.
Here's bad news for deer hunters out there -- a new study shows that hunting can be bad for your heart. It should come as no surprise that hunting leads to a surge in adrenaline, which gets your heart going quite fast, but apparently those who regularly hunt are actually at risk for developing potentially dangerous heart-rhythm disturbances, or even diminished oxygen supply to the heart. Furthermore, the study found that hunting puts the heart under more distress than running does. It's thought that the combination of physical exertion, adrenaline, rough terrain and cold weather is what's causing the problem. And considering that hunters are often hundreds of miles from civilization, this can be a serious, potentially fatal, problem.
Still, I doubt this will deter many from hunting. What do you think?
Here's bad news for deer hunters out there -- a new study shows that hunting can be bad for your heart. It should come as no surprise that hunting leads to a surge in adrenaline, which gets your heart going quite fast, but apparently those who regularly hunt are actually at risk for developing potentially dangerous heart-rhythm disturbances, or even diminished oxygen supply to the heart. Furthermore, the study found that hunting puts the heart under more distress than running does. It's thought that the combination of physical exertion, adrenaline, rough terrain and cold weather is what's causing the problem. And considering that hunters are often hundreds of miles from civilization, this can be a serious, potentially fatal, problem.
Still, I doubt this will deter many from hunting. What do you think?
