Chicago Marathon death of young woman

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Dang! And what a phenomenal young athlete too. What a shock that has to be to family, friends and students.
 
Not to be gruesome, but if and when they release the coroners report, could you please post the findings?
 
Yeah Ross, I would like to know too. Sounds like sudden death from Aortic Stenosis but there is so little information given about it. Thanks Gina for posting it.
 
How tragic this was. I have a friend who was running in a marathon in Iowa two years ago and he went down and ended up have a triple bypass. He is doing just fine now and back to his running. I would like to know the findings also.

Dave
________________________
Aortic Aneurysm Repair
AVR with a St. Jude Mechanical
 
Also Wondering About the Cause

Also Wondering About the Cause

I am wondering about the possibility of bicuspid aortic valve/aortic disease here.... It seems so ironic that some who are born with this condition, as well as Marfans and other connective tissue disorders, are wonderful athletes - the connective tissue in some parts of their body is extraordinarily flexible and strong, but their aortic valve/aorta gets them into trouble....... And if there is no heart murmur, many do not even know that they have it..... For the sake of others, I too hope the autopsy results will be shared......

Arlyss
 
I read the whole article and my heart goes out to her husband and family.
This is exactly what the cardiologist told me after he diagnosed me with Aortic Stenosis. I had been into heavy lifting(for a woman) and daily cardiovascular exercises. I had to stop whatever lifting I was doing and to take it easy. He told me just walking to the mailbox could cause "sudden death".
 
Death at Chicago Marathon

Death at Chicago Marathon

An autopsy has determined that an Ohio University physical education instructor who collapsed Sunday after completing the Chicago Marathon died of a heart condition.

The autopsy results were released Wednesday by the university's sports media department.

The report said 29-year-old Rachael Townsend of The Plains suffered a mitral valve prolapse, leading to a fatal heart attack.


Mitral valve prolapse is the result of a valve between two heart chambers not opening and closing properly and usually causes a heart "murmur."

Townsend's husband, Ohio University assistant basketball coach Brian Townsend, ran the 26-mile marathon with her.
-------------------
The above was from marathonguide.com
 
thanks for posting that gina!
that is so sad. such a young person. we hear about this so often....extremely fit person just collapses. then they find there was something wrong that was never picked up on before (or wasnt' serious).
i'm so sorry for her young husband and family.


gina,
your house all healthy now???? hope so!!
 
Mitral valve prolapse

Mitral valve prolapse

There are a lot of folks out there with MVP and they probably should not worry about it. I was diagnosed with a "functional" murmur first time in 1960 age 34 trying to get life insurance. I finally was insured standard and the company won. About 1972 an English cardiologist named Barlow figured out the cause of the murmur, a "floppy" mitral valve, and some called it Barlow's disease. The general opinion was that it was relatively harmless
and not the cause of any symptoms including sudden death. However as in my case these floppy valves tend to degenerate with age and I needed a replacement at age 72 five years ago.
Lately I have heard that the condition is not entirely benign and can lead to arrythmias in younger people. Usually the arrythmia is afib or flutter. This may have been the problem with the young runner. We will probably never know. All I can say it is still rare for MVP to cause problems and if you are young and healthy otherwise I would advise you to live all out and not turn into a neurotic. Just have a relationship with a good cardiologist, get an annual physical to make sure the heart rythym is OK and you do not have any regurgitation.
 
I was a somewhat surprised to hear that the death was due to a heart attack that was as a result of mitral valve prolapse. I've always heard that 10% of the people in the US have MVP and live with it their whole lives without issues. I always thought that I was one of the lucky few to have real problems. Since being diagnosed I've run into more people than "a few" who have issues with it.

I'm wondering if she knew she had it, if a doctor was aware of it, if it was considered a mild prolapse etc etc. So many unknowns that may cause some people to freak out when they read it was MVP if they've been told they also have MVP and not to worry.

I was one of the young adults that had severe arrhythmia issues with mine. (emphasis on the word "was"! Still have mild rhythm issues, but no longer young.)

Karlynn
 
Karlynn,

I hear you....was always told it was going to be a non-issue. Until, we relocated down south and another doctor really picked up on it. Obviously not a "non-issue".

Feel MVP is downplayed much too often in young individuals. On average....they do not expect to see much severity in the young.

PS. Hi Sylvia...I will write you an email very soon! Hope all is well with you!
 
Low blood sodium?

Low blood sodium?

There was an article in the Post recently which detailed the problems of some marathoners who drink too much water before and during the run. They wind up with low blood sodium or hyponatremia. This can lead to a lot of bad things and a few marathoners have died from it. I would guess that the Chicago coroner drew a blood sodium and probably would have noted if it was low.
 
I agree Marty....
"the Chicago Marathon's medical director, said he was "a little skeptical" that mitral valve prolapse was the sole cause"

It could have been a combination. Running a marathon is an extreme stress factor in itself!
 

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