Lawsuit: Fast food chains caused obesity
It was only a matter of time before an ambulance chaser was going to smell more than the scent of burgers and fried chicken when walking by those establishments. While I abhor the thought of people not taking ownership for their behavior, I do find this more appealing than seeing physicians harassed by frivilous lawsuits coming from people who seek treatment for lifestyle ailments accumulated after eating that crap.
America - what a country!
Then I saw this interesting article.
Coroner: Coke linked to Entwistle's death
I find the comment about reduced flow in diseased coronary arteries particularly interesting. The physiology of that is both interesting and complex. Research in that area was my life for 5 years after leaving graduate school.
But the more interesting thing to ponder is how that very scenario could probably happen in your typical dojo where people experiment with vasovagal-induced KOs. Heart disease can be quite silent for years. Arteries that feed the heart muscle can narrow at various points in their 3-D architecture from a typical American diet. For many, they don't know they have a problem until they shovel snow in the winter, and suddenly experience chest pain. Some are lucky and the symptoms come on gradually. Those folks have time to deal with the problem before a heart attack can happen. But some folks don't know they have these narrowed points until some physical and/or psychological event becomes the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. One minute they are fine; the next minute they are in ventricular fibrillation.
To start with, it pays to have someone that knows CPR in class. No, a typical kyusho revival technique isn't going to cardioconvert someone. When cardiac cells stop firing in synchrony, it's time for serious intervention.
Second, it makes sense to see your doctor at regular intervals. Most all of the risk factors that lead to cardiac events are known today. It's not difficult to predict that a cardiac event is possible. There are many pharmacologic and lifestyle interventions that can make a difference.
And finally, everyone should understand the risks involved in pushing the human body outside the bounds of conscious, sedentary existence. It pays to be informed, and it pays to put information to good use via responsible behavior in the gym and the dojo.
- Bill
My shout of NO!!! was too late for her. However I was able to stop another individual from attempting to clean up blood from a sparring match with bare hands. We now know that at tournaments and in camp that it is the responsibility of medical personnel to handle all such cases.