Why Do Healthy People Suddenly Drop Dead?

Have you noticed of late there are an increasing number of reports of young and reportedly healthy athletes suddenly dying during their training or sporting event, and in some cases doing nothing strenuous at all? How about the healthy ones who get sick by flu and succumbing to the illness? The medical reports have otherwise declared them to be fit and healthy? How can this be so?

Often when a sudden event coming from inside the body is that catastrophic to end life there are only a couple of medical reasons for this happening - a vascular rupture has occurred or a nervous system (brain or heart conduction) has massively misfired in response to a vascular event or other circumstance.

The current medical model of  assessment of what is healthy needs an overhaul in my and many medical practitioner and integrative medical practitioners' opinions. For a healthy person to have a fatal vascular event and in the same breath be assessed as healthy - tells me we need to set new parameters for what is and what isn't healthy.

Here are some of the known contributing factors to a potentially fatal vascular event occurring and some assessment tips to go home with:

1.  Vessel fragility - if your vessel walls are fragile they will break. Just like any flexible tube - if it's exposed to enough environmental damage (inflammation, nutrient depletion, oxidative stress from chemicals and heavy metals) - it will eventually break open and leak. Your vessels need a number of nutrients for flexibility and protection, most of our modern diets are no where near rich enough in damage protecting compounds. In fact the modern diet robs your body of these so most of you are starting with a deficit unless you do something to turn it around.  Remember, you can otherwise be considered healthy by current testing protocol - none of which adequately measures vascular integrity.
2.  Too much angiotensin being produced : not enough nitric oxide produced to protect the vessel and reverse the angiotensin rise.  Angiotensin is a hormone that your body produces under emotional and physical stress and can increase your blood pressure - one main starting point for production is in the liver. Nitric oxide is produced under exercise but also in the presence of certain nutrients like Co Enzyme Q 10, Vitamin C, E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Citrulline and Arginine (found in nuts, fruits, meats and dairy).  Although exercise is protective, too much can be inflammatory - it's about recovery and balance.   Contact me for a Nitric Oxide production plan - complete with exercise tips, diet and supplemental advice.
3.  Plaque formation - yes cholesterol can be a problematic contributor, but we are looking at it with a small microscope so to speak with current testing parameters.  It's not enough to look at a test result after your blood has been through a machine to come up with a LDL/HDL reading. We need to start looking at the particle sizes and numbers to determine a healthy balance between the two. Even elevated ('protective') HDL is a marker for danger recent research will tell us. Plaque forms under inflammatory damage as part of the repair process to the vessel lining - and guess what - athletes are often experiencing inflammation. Best to start looking there.
4.  Blood pressure and pulse irregularities - many practitioners do not routinely check both arms and also ankle pulses. A simple yet thorough check of these with mathematical differences taken to assess potential issues, is often an early sign that something is up. Also many practitioners are taking blood pressures incorrectly which can contribute to an incorrect reading and reflection of what is going on. Contact me for a handout on how a blood pressure should be taken correctly - you can rock up and get yourself into position to help arrive at a more accurate reading.  Even if your arm is sitting too high or low, the reading can be out by up to 10 points.
5.  Erectile dysfunction can herald endothelial (vessel) damage. If you are or know a man who has trouble with erection strength and duration, this can be an early sign other vessels are not working so well.  I don't have a handout for this, but best to check that out, so to speak.

Remember - a fit person isn't always the healthiest person.  The definition of health is wide and varied and is not simply linked into how hard and fast you can push your body.  Eat and drink wisely, move thoughtfully and rest respectively - often a good start for the most discerning corporate athlete.

If you would like Nicky to speak at your next employee training session, break out meeting or keynote event, contact us at [email protected].  Nicky offers a wide range of informative and thoughtfully constructed Corporate Wellness presentations delivered in a humorous and professional setting.  For a comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program or keynote presentation quote, email us at [email protected]