Tweet
Thick ventricle caused Womeodu's death -- Only defibrillator could
have possibly saved him, doctor says
BYLINE: Zack McMillin
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
BODY:
A structural abnormality of the heart led to the death of Anthony Okechi
Womeodu, the 16-year-old White Station student and tennis standout who died Nov.
10 while playing soccer.
According to Dr. Kenneth Snell, the assistant medical examiner, Womeodu had a
condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The left ventricle of his heart
was abnormally thick, which, in combination with routine physical activity, led
to the cardiac arrhythmia that caused him to collapse and die.
"It is a structural abnormality of the heart," Snell said. "It's too heavy.
It's too large. It's too big. It sets him up or anyone for an abnormal heartbeat
to develop."
Womeodu had participated in less than 15 minutes of the soccer match and was
sitting on the bench when he collapsed.
Snell said there is no way to predict when a person with the condition might
have an abnormal heartbeat, and the condition itself is very hard to detect
without undergoing invasive procedures.
"We can't say when the abnormal heartbeat could occur," Snell said. "(If
someone has this condition) it is a normal thing to occur in athletic activity.
It has no relation to overexertion."
Snell said if someone is diagnosed, the recommendation from doctors is to
avoid even routine athletic activity.
Snell and Dr. Helen Morrow, the acting health officer for the Memphis and
Shelby County Health Department, said the condition can run in families. The
best indication that a child might have the condition is if there is any family
history of a child dying suddenly while participating in a physical activity.
"But not everyone who has it has the family history," Snell said.
Although uncommon, according to the Web site of the Hypertrophic
Cardiomyopathy Assocation ( 4hcm.org ), it is estimated that as many as 300,000
people in the United States have HCM.
Snell and Morrow recommend that all children, adolescents and teenagers
receive a routine physical examination, preferably from their primary care
pediatrician, once a year.
"And families should know their own family history," Morrow said.
Snell said should someone with HCM develop cardiac arrhythmia there is only
one possible way to return to the heartbeat to a normal rhythm: a defibrillator.
More businesses and facilities are adding portable defibrillators, and it can
save lives, Snell said.
"But it has to be present, and someone must be present who knows how to
operate it," he said.
have possibly saved him, doctor says
BYLINE: Zack McMillin
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
BODY:
A structural abnormality of the heart led to the death of Anthony Okechi
Womeodu, the 16-year-old White Station student and tennis standout who died Nov.
10 while playing soccer.
According to Dr. Kenneth Snell, the assistant medical examiner, Womeodu had a
condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The left ventricle of his heart
was abnormally thick, which, in combination with routine physical activity, led
to the cardiac arrhythmia that caused him to collapse and die.
"It is a structural abnormality of the heart," Snell said. "It's too heavy.
It's too large. It's too big. It sets him up or anyone for an abnormal heartbeat
to develop."
Womeodu had participated in less than 15 minutes of the soccer match and was
sitting on the bench when he collapsed.
Snell said there is no way to predict when a person with the condition might
have an abnormal heartbeat, and the condition itself is very hard to detect
without undergoing invasive procedures.
"We can't say when the abnormal heartbeat could occur," Snell said. "(If
someone has this condition) it is a normal thing to occur in athletic activity.
It has no relation to overexertion."
Snell said if someone is diagnosed, the recommendation from doctors is to
avoid even routine athletic activity.
Snell and Dr. Helen Morrow, the acting health officer for the Memphis and
Shelby County Health Department, said the condition can run in families. The
best indication that a child might have the condition is if there is any family
history of a child dying suddenly while participating in a physical activity.
"But not everyone who has it has the family history," Snell said.
Although uncommon, according to the Web site of the Hypertrophic
Cardiomyopathy Assocation ( 4hcm.org ), it is estimated that as many as 300,000
people in the United States have HCM.
Snell and Morrow recommend that all children, adolescents and teenagers
receive a routine physical examination, preferably from their primary care
pediatrician, once a year.
"And families should know their own family history," Morrow said.
Snell said should someone with HCM develop cardiac arrhythmia there is only
one possible way to return to the heartbeat to a normal rhythm: a defibrillator.
More businesses and facilities are adding portable defibrillators, and it can
save lives, Snell said.
"But it has to be present, and someone must be present who knows how to
operate it," he said.
Comment