Gaines Adams dead

[Banedon]

ESPN.com is reporting that a preliminary autopsy indicates that Adams died of cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart.

 

Jesus...same as that southern indiana kid.

[jersey cubs fan]

a young dude like that dying under mysterious circumstances smells like suicide

 

suicide? That would be like fifth or sixth on my list of guesses. My first guess with a successful young athlete dying under mysterious circumstances would be drugs.

 

well it's not a successful one, it's a guy that's been a disappointment in two different cities.

I figure car accidents have to be number 1, with gun violence, suicide and drugs rounding out the top of the list for young people.

[TruffleShuffle]

This is crazy. I don't know how to feel. It's ironic that my teams have been on the other side of this a few times. Darryl Kile and Kyle McClelland have died for the Cards when they were playing the CUbs.

 

might want to call the family of mclellan and let them know that he's dead.

[Soul]

ESPN.com is reporting that a preliminary autopsy indicates that Adams died of cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart.

 

Jesus...same as that southern indiana kid.

If that's true then I have to wonder why it wasn't detected in a physical. Because an enlarged heart is not that hard to discover. Not like some of the more subtle heart defects.

[Derwood]

do Steroids cause enlarged hearts?

[RedFlash]

This is crazy. I don't know how to feel. It's ironic that my teams have been on the other side of this a few times. Darryl Kile and Kyle McClelland have died for the Cards when they were playing the CUbs. Bears played the Redskins right around the death of Sean Taylor.

 

I feel bad for the Adams family. And because he was traded this year, it affects 2 different organizations.

 

I think you meant Josh Hancock.

 

And this sucks. I might have been one of the few who thought that Gaines Adams was going to fulfilled his promise in Chicago. I am truly shocked and sadden by the death of this young man.

[kujay]

Sad. Condolences to his family.

[hawkeyecub]

a young dude like that dying under mysterious circumstances smells like suicide

 

suicide? That would be like fifth or sixth on my list of guesses. My first guess with a successful young athlete dying under mysterious circumstances would be drugs.

 

well it's not a successful one, it's a guy that's been a disappointment in two different cities.

I figure car accidents have to be number 1, with gun violence, suicide and drugs rounding out the top of the list for young people.

 

When I heard the news getting stuff before the Vikings game that was my initial thought. When they didn't say it was an accident or some kind of crime scene, suicide or drugs come to mind immediately.

 

Rough deal, I loved him coming out of Clemson. Never heard of him being in trouble or really anything negative besides being a bust. The jokes will be easy to come by for others.

[Guest]

Maybe steroids are involved? When do these guys get tested again now that it's the offseason? Is it possible that he passed his physical at the time of the trade because he was clean at that time, but maybe took some sort of PED at the start of the offseason that he thought would have time to clean out of his system before his next test?

 

I ask because it seems odd to me that this is something that wouldn't show up on his physical. If it truly got missed, may I suggest more stringent physicals in the future? I hate to keep using the word odd, but it seems odd to me that you would trade such a prized possession as your top pick in the next draft for a guy with heart issues. Okay, maybe someone with the physique of Adrian Peterson (Minny) might make you skip that portion of the physical, but we are talking about a tremendously large 300+ lineman.

[dougdescenzo]

do Steroids cause enlarged hearts?

 

I'd venture a guess that every athlete playing a professional sport has a heart that has been enlarged by years of playing high-level athletics.

[Sammy Sofa]

Maybe steroids are involved? When do these guys get tested again now that it's the offseason? Is it possible that he passed his physical at the time of the trade because he was clean at that time, but maybe took some sort of PED at the start of the offseason that he thought would have time to clean out of his system before his next test?

 

I ask because it seems odd to me that this is something that wouldn't show up on his physical. If it truly got missed, may I suggest more stringent physicals in the future? I hate to keep using the word odd, but it seems odd to me that you would trade such a prized possession as your top pick in the next draft for a guy with heart issues. Okay, maybe someone with the physique of Adrian Peterson (Minny) might make you skip that portion of the physical, but we are talking about a tremendously large 300+ lineman.

 

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

[jersey cubs fan]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

A good baseball scout can determine the size of a guy's heart after just a couple at bats.

[Magnetic Curses]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

echos are expensive, though, but imo, should be part of any sports physical. it's another part of the problem with our health care system.

[jersey cubs fan]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

echos are expensive, though, but imo, should be part of any sports physical. it's another part of the problem with our health care system.

 

That's a stretch.

[Magnetic Curses]

what is?

[jersey cubs fan]

what is?

 

That this is a sympton of problems within the health care system and that echos should be a part of any sports physical.

[Sammy Sofa]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

Not true. For something so potentially serious it's something that's often very easily missed even with an EKG.

[Magnetic Curses]

what is?

 

That this is a sympton of problems within the health care system and that echos should be a part of any sports physical.

 

kids die every year from this sort of thing, and echos are way overpriced, which is pretty much what is driving up the cost of health care. make them less expensive and require more people to get them.

[Magnetic Curses]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

Not true. For something so potentially serious it's something that's often very easily missed even with an EKG.

 

i have an enlarged heart, and i had a funky rythm that was picked up on an ekg. my doctor knew what to look for, so, i guess it may have to do with the physician or with my individual situation, but if doctors are looking for these types of things, they'll probably find them more times than not--even without super-expensive prcedures.

[Sammy Sofa]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

Not true. For something so potentially serious it's something that's often very easily missed even with an EKG.

 

i have an enlarged heart, and i had a funky rythm that was picked up on an ekg. my doctor knew what to look for, so, i guess it may have to do with the physician or with my individual situation, but if doctors are looking for these types of things, they'll probably find them more times than not--even without super-expensive prcedures.

 

Again, not necessarily, and like you said it had more to do wth your particular situation. Even if a doctor is looking for something specific with an EKG it can still easily go undetected. Enlarged hearts are relatively very common and go missed all the time. I'm not arguing against people being able to be tested along these lines; just that it's far from a surefire bet to be caught.

[Magnetic Curses]

the problem is that ekgs aren't generally part of physicals, either. and an enlarged heart isn't something you can hear unless there's a murmur, which is what i'm wondering. if adams's heart was enlarged enough to cause sudden death, shouldn't it have been enlarged enough to cause a murmur? perhaps it just developed in the last few months?

[Soul]

Something like an enlarged heart is likely to not show up in a physical unless a bodyscan is done, and even then it's no sure bet to be detected.

 

an enlarged heart should leave some kind of evidence on a simple ekg, and can be confirmed on an echo.

 

Not true. For something so potentially serious it's something that's often very easily missed even with an EKG.

 

i have an enlarged heart, and i had a funky rythm that was picked up on an ekg. my doctor knew what to look for, so, i guess it may have to do with the physician or with my individual situation, but if doctors are looking for these types of things, they'll probably find them more times than not--even without super-expensive prcedures.

 

Again, not necessarily, and like you said it had more to do wth your particular situation. Even if a doctor is looking for something specific with an EKG it can still easily go undetected. Enlarged hearts are relatively very common and go missed all the time. I'm not arguing against people being able to be tested along these lines; just that it's far from a surefire bet to be caught.

 

That's true. There are many flavors of the condition and different levels of severity. Not going to be detected in every case.

 

I wonder if maybe Gaines did know about his condition. But didn't share it with anyone. That's always a possibility, too. Medical records are private unless the privacy is waived.

[Guest]

I'm curious to know what he was doing at the time of his death that would cause his enlarged heart to give up. Was it more strenuous than a typical workout or practice or an actual game? I mean, these guys are trying to move building sized creatures to get at the QB, and if that isn't enough to sieze his enlarged heart, what exactly was it?

 

I don't like speculating that drugs might somehow be involved, but I think there is the remote possibility.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm curious to know what he was doing at the time of his death that would cause his enlarged heart to give up. Was it more strenuous than a typical workout or practice or an actual game? I mean, these guys are trying to move building sized creatures to get at the QB, and if that isn't enough to sieze his enlarged heart, what exactly was it?

 

I don't like speculating that drugs might somehow be involved, but I think there is the remote possibility.

 

I believed he actually died in his sleep.

[Guest]

The semi-related stories to this had guys dying while playing a game. That's what has me more curious about this than the others.