Bears Gaines Adams Dead!

[The Shadow]

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/news/story?id=4833908

[esoxx]

OMG! :shock:

Way too young

[Lurker64]

Holy crap, I'm sad to hear that. By all accounts he was a nice guy, and that's awfully young.

[red]

edited - Admin

[Badgerinmaine]

I was sorry to see that...26 years old. Wow. May he rest in peace. :(

[red]

on a serious note

they're saying its a heart attack

26 years olds in good shape shouldn't just die of a heart attack. gotta wonder about some supplements or something along that line

[MOBB DEEP]

DAYUM...!!!

RIP

[Patler]

on a serious note

they're saying its a heart attack

26 years olds in good shape shouldn't just die of a heart attack. gotta wonder about some supplements or something along that line

With the supplement era we are in, that question will always be asked. But, for the time being, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. I know there is a condition, often undetected, that can result in exercise induced heart attacks, often fatal. It seems to show up in the mid to late 20s.

A few years ago a local basketball player, a year or two out of a very good D-I career was playing in a pickup game, and just dropped dead running down the court. After they did the autopsy, the local paper carried articles about the condition. It's rarely ever detected ahead of the event.

[red]

on a serious note

they're saying its a heart attack

26 years olds in good shape shouldn't just die of a heart attack. gotta wonder about some supplements or something along that line

With the supplement era we are in, that question will always be asked. But, for the time being, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. I know there is a condition, often undetected, that can result in exercise induced heart attacks, often fatal. It seems to show up in the mid to late 20s.

A few years ago a local basketball player, a year or two out of a very good D-I career was playing in a pickup game, and just dropped dead running down the court. After they did the autopsy, the local paper carried articles about the condition. It's rarely ever detected ahead of the event.

hank gathers was another one. heart failed and he died on the court

and he was clean, he had a well known heart condition tough and he symptoms before his death

eddie curry also has a heart condition.

seems like kids are having more problems as kids are continuing to get bigger every year

it'll be interesting to see what went wrong, what caused it, and why it was never discovered before

[Patler]

hank gathers was another one. heart failed and he died on the court

and he was clean, he had a well known heart condition tough and he symptoms before his death

eddie curry also has a heart condition.

seems like kids are having more problems as kids are continuing to get bigger every year

it'll be interesting to see what went wrong, what caused it, and why it was never discovered before

The articles mentioned that when talking to friends and family, they mentioned that he had minor complaints about chest discomfort, etc.for a couple weeks. Nothing significant. The autopsy revealed he had a series of very minor attackes before. But what 26 year old in good condition thinks he is having a heart attack?

Perhaps we see more players with detected conditions simply because they receive better care and there are better diagnostic procedures available now.

[Brohm]

Wow tragic :( Cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart. 98% death rate with arrest vs attack :(

[hawaii50]

I'm in the pediatric health field. These sudden deaths are a result of a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart or thickening of heart muscles) that often causes the patient to have sudden arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms). There are often no symptoms, especially in young populations, although we are now trying to improve the screening process for sports physicals to detect patients that might be at risk.

Some of the questions we ask the patient is if they have a family member that died suddenly before the age of 40 years old, any history of fainting or trouble breathing, or any heart murmurs. In the case of these athletes dying of sudden cardiac arrest, having a simple AED (defibrillator) on hand would likely save their lives. Unfortunately, many high schools (i.e. basketball courts) don't have an AED on hand or nearby, in which case it's most likely fatal within 10 minutes.

It's unfortunate that a player such as Adams has made it through so many levels of sports participation where no warning signs were detected. I'm sure he was screened properly, just wrong place wrong time I guess.

[red]

I'm in the pediatric health field. These sudden deaths are a result of a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart or thickening of heart muscles) that often causes the patient to have sudden arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms). There are often no symptoms, especially in young populations, although we are now trying to improve the screening process for sports physicals to detect patients that might be at risk.

Some of the questions we ask the patient is if they have a family member that died suddenly before the age of 40 years old, any history of fainting or trouble breathing, or any heart murmurs. In the case of these athletes dying of sudden cardiac arrest, having a simple AED (defibrillator) on hand would likely save their lives. Unfortunately, many high schools (i.e. basketball courts) don't have an AED on hand or nearby, in which case it's most likely fatal within 10 minutes.

It's unfortunate that a player such as Adams has made it through so many levels of sports participation where no warning signs were detected. I'm sure he was screened properly, just wrong place wrong time I guess.

hawaii, is this something new, or are dr's just starting to figure it out more these days. or are we just hearing about it more these days

you never really heard a lot about this until a few years ago, then we started to hear a lot about it

is it a change it the way we life and the things we put in our bodies (foods, medicines, etc). or has the problem always been there and its just becoming more well known?

[mmmdk]

Sad to hear stuff like this !

RIP

[hawaii50]

good question, red. i haven't been in the field long enough to give you an accurate answer to that, although it does seem to be something that is popping up in the media a lot more in recent years.

i do know that there is no specific known cause(s), but the best guess is that it's mostly genetic as I believe about 1 in every 2 patients with HC have a close relative with the same condition. Add that to the increasingly changing unhealthy diets of the younger population and I'm sure the prevalence is increasing.

[The Leaper]

Bottom line...

Any individual the size of the players currently playing in the NFL is at risk to die young due to circulatory/heart issues. Any small issues that might linger until mid life in more sedentary individuals can pop up far more quickly in these guys due to the extreme stress these guys put on their body training and playing football.

RIP...sad to hear abuot it.

[pbmax]

Bottom line...

Any individual the size of the players currently playing in the NFL is at risk to die young due to circulatory/heart issues. Any small issues that might linger until mid life in more sedentary individuals can pop up far more quickly in these guys due to the extreme stress these guys put on their body training and playing football.

RIP...sad to hear abuot it.
But you are making an assumption on their size being a factor. It may be in some cases, probably even moreso in long term situations. But the condition described above does not seem dependent on size.

My condolences to all involved, especially his family.

[The Leaper]

Size isn't always a factor...I agree.

However, there certainly is a correlation between size and heart issues...NFL athlete or otherwise. The human heart is not as efficient in a larger person as it is in a smaller person...and the extra stress plays a role in numerous issues.

[Joemailman]

Gonna seem kind of odd when the Bucs make a 2nd round selection with the pick they got from the Bears for Gaines Adams...

[GBRulz]

This is really a sad story. His story almost reminds me of Donald Driver where he really had to work hard for everything he had and wasn't recruited by many colleges.

Clemson is only about 20 minutes from me, which is where Gaines Adams played his college football, so of course it's all over the news here. 26 years old, just way too young.

[sheepshead]

Whats sad here is someone lost a son and that should never happen,

[Rastak]

Whats sad here is someone lost a son and that should never happen,


His kids also lost their dad. Very very sad.

Waiting for the master of the classless post to add some anti-bears quip thinking it's funny.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Whats sad here is someone lost a son and that should never happen,


His kids also lost their dad. Very very sad.

Waiting for the master of the classless post to add some anti-bears quip thinking it's funny.

You mean like this post? Classy all the way.

[Rastak]

Whats sad here is someone lost a son and that should never happen,


His kids also lost their dad. Very very sad.

Waiting for the master of the classless post to add some anti-bears quip thinking it's funny.

You mean like this post? Classy all the way.


edit:

At least you knew who the master of the classless post was....LOL...well, not really laughing since it's rather sad.

[Scott Campbell]

How bout we set aside the personal issues for another thread.


RIP

[MJZiggy]

You always think you're doing what you need to to stay healthy, but things like this remind us that you never know and still need to cherish those in your life. Never take them for granted.

RIP, man.

[MichiganPackerFan]

I feel for the family losing someone that young.

[hurleyfan]

[quote=Patler]
hank gathers was another one. heart failed and he died on the court



Wasn't it cocaine?

[Patler]

[quote=Patler]
hank gathers was another one. heart failed and he died on the court



Wasn't it cocaine?

??? Some editing mistakes perhaps?? :lol: :lol:

[red]

hank gathers was another one. heart failed and he died on the court



Wasn't it cocaine?

no, that was len bias

drafted #2 overall by the celtics in 86, dies less then 2 days after the draft

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Whats sad here is someone lost a son and that should never happen,


His kids also lost their dad. Very very sad.

Waiting for the master of the classless post to add some anti-bears quip thinking it's funny.

You mean like this post? Classy all the way.


edit:

At least you knew who the master of the classless post was....LOL...well, not really laughing since it's rather sad.

No, i just knew you were an ass for even making the statement. Didn't require any more knowledge than that.

What is sad is that on a thread about Gaines you felt the need to cheapshot someone and to divert attention from gaines.

It really is sad.

[sheepshead]

Lovie Smith remembers Gaines Adams as father first
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 22, 2010 7:15 PM ET
Five days after he died suddenly at the age of 26, Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams was remembered today more as a family man than a football player.

Bears coach Lovie Smith, who spoke at Adams' funeral in Easley, South Carolina, said that in his first conversation with Adams the night he was traded to the Bears from the Buccaneers, they talked about fatherhood and not football.

"He talked about his two children and how proud he was to be their father," Smith said.

Another of Adams' coaches, former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, said that Adams' best friend was his father.

"You could see how special the relationship was," Bowden said. "You could see why Gaines made the decisions that he did."


Nice tribute looks like from the Bears. Sounds like he was a great guy and you can see why the Bears gave him a shot.