Neil Reed's Massive Heart Attack

[JamesAA]

Perhaps some of you are aware of the story, perhaps some aren't, but Neil Reed, a former NCAA basketball player, suffered a massive heart attack on July 26th and died.

He was young, and athletic.  Is it likely that he had a per-existing condition and if so why hadn't it been diagnosed?

In other words, could he have had this massive heart attach just out of the blue, in a normal, healthy heart?  

In the articles I read there was no mention that he was on meds, or knew of a problem.  Perhaps he did, but I was rather under the impression that he had no clue.  Could an EKG or echo have "caught" something if he were tested???

[iuhoosier88]

Most likely it was a heart arrhythmia of some sort. Makes it vital that medical providers stay on top of their acls certifications. More and more first responders need to be qualified in order to handle these types of situations. Reed was a very talented basketball player and surprising he had a heart issue that went undetected. If emts are reading this, please do get your acls certifications!
RIP Neil Reed

[Flycaster305]

I'm a college basketball junkie and his name rings a bell.  Didn't his Indiana Coach (Knight) kick him or slap him for making a mistake?  
If he was tall, he could have had Marfan's Disease.  Abe Lincoln is suspected of having this condition, and it can result in what is called V-Fib, which can lead to sudden death.  
There are many unknowns when someone dies unexpectedly from heart issues.  Often, when heart problems are found in young people, the drugs that can protect the heart cause exercise and sexual disfunction and to a young athlete is a reason to not take the drug.  Also, lifestyle issues can be a factor.  
Yes, if he was having a complete yearly physical it's possible a problem could have been detected, but there are no guarantees in life.  

[ireneo]

Perhaps they'll follow up with more information after an autopsy is done. They usually check to find out the cause of a heart related death in athletes. I've read articles recently that young people trying out for sports should perhaps have a heart exam before signing up. There are too many teens  dropping on the court from undetected heart problems.

[jrbon]

Be aware that you cannot trust the journalists on this sort of matters... they go fast and they, normally, do not have the knowledge.

Of course, as Ed explain, you can have a HA from the blue, but chances are that he did not suffered that, but a cardiac arrest (eg for a Ventricular tachi) that might have a genetic reason and do not gives any warning.

Jesus

[ed34]

It is most likely he was born with a defect and unless the appropriate tests are done, this would go unnoticed. There was this idea that if someone was young and fit, their heart must be healthy, but this is not really the case, it's taking it for granted. There is also the possibility that from an injury, even slight, you can form a clot. If this clotting material loosens and travels around to the heart, it can give an acute heart attack. This could happen to anyone. For example, if you bash your leg in a sport and a clot forms, this would show nothing on an EKG or Echoscan. The clot is in the area of the injury. It's only if some of the material dislodges that the heart could be affected, if the clot finds its way there and gets lodged in a coronary artery. In most cases, an Echo would catch clues to problems for sports people, such as over enlarged hearts, leaky valves etc.