There are many reasons for heart failure. Although the use of steroids might have been detrimental, they might have not been directly correlated to his death.
Lets look at the obvious facts. The man was overweight and carrying a large amount of mass, which makes it difficult for the heart.
Due to his over-eating and excess weight, he could have had:
.....a history of
hypertension (elevated blood pressure) that lead to the heart having to work much harder to pump blood from the left ventricle out into his systemic circulation. This is one of the major causes for left-ventricular hypertrophy, whereby the left ventricle becomes thickened due to the added exertion needed to pump blood our of the heart. Over time, this causes the left ventricle to become weak and/or stiff which can lead to heart failure.
.....a history of
elevated cholesterol that lead to atherosclerosis (clogging and hardening by way of fatty deposits) of the coronary arteries. Over time, with enough fatty buildup, you can end up with plaque that lines the arteries of the heart. If pieces of plaque break off, they can travel in the form of small clots, which can then interrupt the blow flow through the coronary arteries leading to a
heart attack (myocardial infarct). The combination of these two things (high cholesterol & a history of heart attacks) can lead to a decline of the ventricles (left and right, but mostly left) pumping capacity which can result in heart failure.
These major issues aside, the guy could have had calcification or even prolapse of his heart valves, which can also over time lead to heart failure.
Drug use (illicit drugs), not necessarily steroid use, could also lead to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is not to say that he was using any illicit drugs, but that is another potential.
Also, to corroborate what Royalty was saying, it is true (based on a limited amount of studies) that anabolic steroid use has been linked to weakened left ventricular function.
Studies to back this up, can be found here:
Serious cardiovascular side effects of large doses of anabolic steroids in weight lifters -
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/10/1576.abstractLong-Term Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use Is Associated With Left Ventricular Dysfunction -
http://circheartfailure.ahajournals.org/content/3/4/472Ultimately, what I think is important to realize is that no mere title, trophy, sponsorship, magazine cover or even various sets of spectating eyes are worth endangering your health in the long run. You only live once and what's important is to live life to your full potential.
May his family find peace in this time of turmoil..
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