Steve Larsen didn't die from a heart attack....Last News...

Daremo - 2009-05-21 4:18 PM Nothing really LOL about the topic .......

x2. Nothing... I mean zero funny about this. Steve was a beloved guy in this sport and personally since he is exactly my age (39) it hits really hard.

I just read this article about sudden death during exercise, and I've excerpted the most salient information:

The relative frequency of myocarditis during the flu wouldn?t be a big deal except for an important fact: Vigorous exercise worsens this potentially life-threatening condition. Animal experiments demonstrate that exercise increases viral replication in heart muscle, resulting in more inflammation and destruction of heart muscle.

Sudden death during exercise is often caused by myocarditis. At autopsy, the hearts of athletes who suffered sudden, unexpected deaths often show microscopic signs of myocarditis, including inflammation and dying cells. Genetic material from a variety of viruses and bacteria has been isolated from these inflamed hearts. An arrhythmia (disturbance of heart rhythm) caused by myocarditis is the presumed mechanism of death in these otherwise young, healthy people.

Between 1979 and 1992, 16 elite Swedish orienteers suffered unexpected cardiac death. The majority of these athletes had blood tests consistent with a recent infection and autopsy evidence of myocarditis. Since instituting strict prohibitions against exercising while ill, no further Swedish orienteers have suffered sudden death.

Even after an episode of acute myocarditis is over, there can be long-term consequences. Inflammation can scar the heart muscle. These scars can be where potentially fatal arrhythmias start and these heart rhythm disturbances can change or even end your life. This process of inflammation and subsequent scarring of the heart muscle is one of the hypotheses for the origin of Greg Welch?s career-ending difficulties with ventricular tachycardia.

In summary, hard exercise when you have anything more serious than a cold is unlikely to result in significant physiological gains. Training under these circumstances will be of lesser quality, and may even lead to serious consequences.

You should post that as a seperate thread, and bump it every time during flu season. 

I've argued this point with a doctor, on this forum, in the past. 

Word after the autopsy is that he did not die from a heart attack but from allergies or something viral:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2490-Endurance-Sports-Examiner~y2009m5d21-Autopsy-suggests-that-Steve-Larsen-did-not-die-of-heart-attack

An autopsy of former professional cyclist Steve Larsen shows that he did not die of a heart attack as was initially reported.

Steve Larsen's brother Mike told VeloNews recently that, "the autopsy ruled out a heart attack and a blood clot. The cause of death may have been viral or related to allergies, he said.

"The last few weeks he had been having serious troubles with his breathing," Mike Larsen said. He said his brother had been seeing a doctor about his breathing troubles and had been unable to finish his workouts.

Larsen collapsed after starting a track workout on Tuesday in Bend Oregon.

Larsen is survived by his wife and five children.

Larsen had retired from racing in 2003 and was working as a real estate professional in Bend, Oregon.