Dead bodybuilders and cause of death

[bmcjames]

My thoughts on this

People who don't take aas die too....sometimes young.

I had a friend, worked in the automotive performance business.
Would never even think about touching steroids or weight lifting, was 25, solid healthy diet (well for the majority of the populace in Houston), didn't drink, would smoke but no more than 2 packs a week....

All this and he had a huge list of heart issues:
Had a pacemaker since the age of 5
has to take prescription blood pressure meds
has had 3 heart attacks, first being at 10yrs old

This guy was around 6' maybe 220lbs 20% bf, looked healthy as a horse....

Then you hear of High School football athletes dieing here in Tx from a heart attack... I say a lot of health issues can be traced to getting the short end of the genetic straw. Some people will smoke 1-2 packs a day and be alcoholics and live to be 90+, others kill over at the age of 18 via a heart attach just playing some High School football... Its hard to just point the finger and blame something

My father always told me,
"Its better to be living life fast, than dieing slow."
His dad (my grandfather) died at the age of 60 from Leukemia, my other grandfather (moms dad) died at the age of 65 from Leukemia.... One was a professional logger and had his own family farm where all he ate was grass fed beef/chicken/eggs from his own land(dad's dad). The other was a professional rancher and a major supplier to the towns food (sheep, wool, cattle, chickens, potatoes, peaches, tomatoes). Both of my grandfathers died at a fairly young age and lived what is though to be a near perfect healthy life: Exercise-farm work for them, Natural Diet-both ate food from their own lands grown with zero hormones nor pesticides they were "Organic" before organic was popular.

 

[Mad Matt]

I had a friend, worked in the automotive performance business.
Would never even think about touching steroids or weight lifting, was 25, solid healthy diet (well for the majority of the populace in Houston), didn't drink, would smoke but no more than 2 packs a week....

All this and he had a huge list of heart issues:
Had a pacemaker since the age of 5
has to take prescription blood pressure meds
has had 3 heart attacks, first being at 10yrs old

This guy was around 6' maybe 220lbs 20% bf, looked healthy as a horse....

Then you hear of High School football athletes dieing here in Tx from a heart attack... I say a lot of health issues can be traced to getting the short end of the genetic straw. Some people will smoke 1-2 packs a day and be alcoholics and live to be 90+, others kill over at the age of 18 via a heart attach just playing some High School football... Its hard to just point the finger and blame something

My father always told me,
"Its better to be living life fast, than dieing slow."
His dad (my grandfather) died at the age of 60 from Leukemia, my other grandfather (moms dad) died at the age of 65 from Leukemia.... One was a professional logger and had his own family farm where all he ate was grass fed beef/chicken/eggs from his own land(dad's dad). The other was a professional rancher and a major supplier to the towns food (sheep, wool, cattle, chickens, potatoes, peaches, tomatoes). Both of my grandfathers died at a fairly young age and lived what is though to be a near perfect healthy life: Exercise-farm work for them, Natural Diet-both ate food from their own lands grown with zero hormones nor pesticides they were "Organic" before organic was popular.

I really do like your dads way of thinking bro....

 

[lewism6]

Well this thread depressed me....
Full physical for me please doctor!

 

[zaosha]

These discussions always come down to perspective rather than data.

There are only so many cases which are really well documented. And it just isn't sufficient to determine causality.

We can say with reasonable certainty that AAS use can predispose one to clotting issues, arteriosclerosis, cardiac dysfunction, etc.

But, in the context of genetic predisposition - which is probably the least known yet most influential factor - and variables like diet, exercise, alcohol, smoking, rec drugs, etc. we simply can't draw solid conclusions. For BB'ers you may be accounting for stimulants, thyroid meds, diuretics, and a lot more.

I think we have a few solid conclusions:

1. Get regular bloodwork.

2. Limit/eliminate orals - these are by far the worst as far as lipid profiles. Even a few mg's of winny or oxandrolone will tank your HDL.

3. Use as little as you need to achieve the results you want.

-zaosha

 

[palumbus1217]

with all due respect to everyone on here, I would never tell someone how to live their life, but the amount of responses i see on forums(not just pm) and in real life with people coming up with reasons to basically refute the potential risks of these drugs is overwhelming

 

[nextpimp718]

Andrean muzner , diruetics
Also abu azziza who died on stage.

Those drugs put an extreme amount of stress on your heart.

 

[PitbullTank]

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit, what a ride!"

 

[Bio]

I think we all understand that people who don't use AAS, may die young as well. There's no guarantees in this life but that's still not a good rationalization for abusing AAS or ancillaries!

One poster brought up diuretics. True...But Diuretic use isn't near what it used to be during the 90's. Some of the misinformed or uninformed competitors of that era didn't understand that certain diuretics were potassium sparring and then went ahead and loaded up on potassium...Bad!! Others just over did diuretics in general. I feel like things have come under better control in this area.

When I was younger, I thought that the negative side effects from steroids were fairly benign. In the short term, I feel this is true. However, prolonged use without proper supervision by a medical professional can have disastrous consequences. Consequences that the user may not even be aware are happening! I wish everyone would get regular blood work , because you may be able to lessen if not avoid the disastrous pitfalls of AAS use/abuse. A pill for a pill is not the best answer, but if someone is dead set on using AAS and they have high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc, then they need to do something about asap! Like "Fears" said in an earlier part of this thread, the biggest culprit right off the bat is high blood pressure...That needs to be addressed immediately...If somebody isn't going to stop using and lowering the dose isn't doing enough, then they need medication!! High BP leads to heart disease, which a lot of people who were diagnosed with this, had no idea this was even happening to them!! The heart disease may then cause a heart attack. Another common side effect from high BP is renal failure (kidney disease)!! Once this happens, your life will never be the same. High cholesterol and a bad lipid profile will cause damage that you don't see or feel now. Calcification of vessel and arterial walls can lead to a heart attack and/or stroke down the road!! Let's say a 35 years old is already experiencing these consequences. They probably have the internal organs of an unhealthy 70 or 80 year old!! Think about how the rest of their life is going play out!! It will most likely be a poor quality of life...If they even live to be a senior citizen!! I'm not trying to preach, I'm just trying to say....If you're going to spend hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to achieve the physique you desire, at least dedicate some of that money to regular check ups and blood work from a doctor that is willing to work with you!! It's just not worth it to fly blind and say "Oh I feel fine", and then see the doctor years down the road with a pain in your side and find out that you have high BP, which caused heart disease and kidney failure. We access our ourselves externally...Let the experts, who have the technology, monitor us internally!!

 

[Fears]

I think we all understand that people who don't use AAS, may die young as well. There's no guarantees in this life but that's still not a good rationalization for abusing AAS or ancillaries!

One poster brought up diuretics. True...But Diuretic use isn't near what it used to be during the 90's. Some of the misinformed or uninformed competitors of that era didn't understand that certain diuretics were potassium sparring and then went ahead and loaded up on potassium...Bad!! Others just over did diuretics in general. I feel like things have come under better control in this area.

When I was younger, I thought that the negative side effects from steroids were fairly benign. In the short term, I feel this is true. However, prolonged use without proper supervision by a medical professional can have disastrous consequences. Consequences that the user may not even be aware are happening! I wish everyone would get regular blood work , because you may be able to lessen if not avoid the disastrous pitfalls of AAS use/abuse. A pill for a pill is not the best answer, but if someone is dead set on using AAS and they have high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc, then they need to do something about asap! Like "Fears" said in an earlier part of this thread, the biggest culprit right off the bat is high blood pressure...That needs to be addressed immediately...If somebody isn't going to stop using and lowering the dose isn't doing enough, then they need medication!! High BP leads to heart disease, which a lot of people who were diagnosed with this, had no idea this was even happening to them!! The heart disease may then cause a heart attack. Another common side effect from high BP is renal failure (kidney disease)!! Once this happens, your life will never be the same. High cholesterol and a bad lipid profile will cause damage that you don't see or feel now. Calcification of vessel and arterial walls can lead to a heart attack and/or stroke down the road!! Let's say a 35 years old is already experiencing these consequences. They probably have the internal organs of an unhealthy 70 or 80 year old!! Think about how the rest of their life is going play out!! It will most likely be a poor quality of life...If they even live to be a senior citizen!! I'm not trying to preach, I'm just trying to say....If you're going to spend hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to achieve the physique you desire, at least dedicate some of that money to regular check ups and blood work from a doctor that is willing to work with you!! It's just not worth it to fly blind and say "Oh I feel fine", and then see the doctor years down the road with a pain in your side and find out that you have high BP, which caused heart disease and kidney failure. We access our ourselves externally...Let the experts, who have the technology, monitor us internally!!

Couldn't have said it better myself. I would just add that in addition to getting blood work, older bodybuilders should also get heart workups such as stress test and echocardiagram. I did recently and sure enough I have "mild to moderate" left ventricle enlargement. Since this does not run in my family I can make an educated guess that high BP, which I just recently got under control, probably has a lot to do with it. My BP is only high when on a cycle so again, do the math. The other scary thing that the doc told me is that even the echo and stress can not pick up on mild to moderately clogged heart arteries. That scares the shit out of me.
We all make life choices just don't delude yourselves into thinking long term AAS use has no consequences. I am sure I'll probably die at a younger age than if I never used but I'm willing to roll with that and accept it while at least trying to mitigate it with being as healthy as I can while still using occasionally

 

[NobleRok]

I try to get checked out (full blood work) every 3 months or sooner if I feel funny. Everyone dies no matter what. So good luck to all. And unfortunately we are left baffled and Mae when people who live a great healthy life pass. Live fast die young and leave good looking corpse behind!! A buddy once said that to me before he wrecked his streetbike and passed.

 

[Turkishexpress]

Its really hard to compare the bb's of (70s, 80s, 90s) to today's bodybuilders. The chemicals used, dietary habits, and the amounts of the chemicals used are just immensely different. I would like to see what's going to happen to the current guys in 15-20 years. I'm sure they know what they are getting themselves into and accept the consequences but don't fall into the trap of romanticizing the situation that they are in. Even if they don't die, their quality of life maybe greatly hindered which is even worse...

 

[maldorf]

Everyone dies no matter what. So good luck to all. And unfortunately we are left baffled and Mae when people who live a great healthy life pass. Live fast die young and leave good looking corpse behind!! A buddy once said that to me before he wrecked his streetbike and passed.

That is how you think when youre young and dont have a wife and children. I used to think like that. Once you age a bit and have a couple of health scares the lights will turn on in your head and your feelings will change.

 

[NobleRok]

That is how you think when youre young and dont have a wife and children. I used to think like that. Once you age a bit and have a couple of health scares the lights will turn on in your head and your feelings will change.

I think ya read that wrong bro lol. My buddy had said that to me. I don't live my life like that having kids and being married myself.

 

[pesty4077]

That is how you think when youre young and dont have a wife and children. I used to think like that. Once you age a bit and have a couple of health scares the lights will turn on in your head and your feelings will change.

I couldn't have said it better.

 

[maldorf]

I think ya read that wrong bro lol. My buddy had said that to me. I don't live my life like that having kids and being married myself.

Oh, see now that you followed that up with another sentence. At first glance I thought you were declaring that yourself! There are many guys on here though that feel like that. The idea that "they better build a bigger box for me when they bury me" or "get big or die trying" attitude.

 

[TheAnabolicFreak]

There are generally two train of thoughts.

You can go to any hardcore bodybuilding board and they will say you can take 3 grams of test + GH + Insulin and DNP + Clen for dieting indefinitely and it wont ever bother you. And any dead/seriously sick pro bodybuilders died because of OTHER reasons that would have happened anyway

Then you can go to any mainstream news channel and they will tell you that soon as you inject a steroid you will immediately drop dead

The truth in my opinion is somewhere in the middle. Yes you will have side effects from anabolics and sometimes those can be deadly. Also if you are careful you might live to be 80 and healthy. Is it worth the risk? Only YOU can answer that question.

 

[PitbullTank]

heres my thing...every hobby that is somewhat extreme is gonna put the participant into a situation of severe injury or death...people dont climb mt everest and upside down ice climbing rocks bc its not riisky...people dont fight mma bc its not not risky...people dont see how far down they can freedive underwater and hold breath bc not risky....people dont try to break records in swimming across shark filled 40* oceans, or base jumping low bridges, or swimming w/o cage w sharks, or race motorcycles, or snowbaord big air competitons, or ETC ETC ETC ETC....

why in the world would people all of a sudden think they they are going to be able to lift extreme weights year after and year and inject shit into their bodies with NO accepted risks, is just crazy...of COURSE their are health risks...and USUALLY the higher towards the top a competitor goes, the more risks they are willing to take...esp if they wanna be #1....

My last thhougt- BBing is risky, u risk your health in order to achieve something you love...but you are no different than anyother extreme type sport...i would love to compare the amount of extreme mountain climbers, or car/motorcycle racers... i mean look at these wiki statistics-

The five tracks with the most competitor fatalities
1 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 56
2 Nürburgring 48
3 Monza 30
4 Daytona International Speedway 24
5 Le Mans 24

these are deaths WHILE racing!!! compare to # of dead competitive BBers....?

 

[FlexMurphy]

Like some others here i have been around the sport a long time,owned 2 gyms,managed 2 others and been in contact with literally thousands of people over the past 35 years.I can tell you one thing for sure,the majority of guys that have serious health issues or have died that i knew of, are mainly power lifters who's eating/training and aas habits were not geared towards longevity.On the other hand there are many bodybuilders from the 70's that i know who are still around and still in good shape.

this is the best answer i think. Bc i believe all mr olympia winners are all still alive today. I went to the arnold last year and met them all! So i 100% agree with the above statement

 

[TNH]

Unfortunately, most of the AAS users I know also use recs and have a crap diet. That isn't a recipe for long life, and I hear this is not too uncommon in the BB world.

 

[maldorf]

My last thhougt- BBing is risky, u risk your health in order to achieve something you love...but you are no different than anyother extreme type sport...i would love to compare the amount of extreme mountain climbers, or car/motorcycle racers... i mean look at these wiki statistics-

The five tracks with the most competitor fatalities
1 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 56
2 Nürburgring 48
3 Monza 30
4 Daytona International Speedway 24
5 Le Mans 24

these are deaths WHILE racing!!! compare to # of dead competitive BBers....?

The big difference here is that in those sports everyone competing knows the dangers and it is well know that you are risking your life. In bodybuilding there are a whole lot of people that are living in denial, the whole "show me the bodies" crap. So in bodybuilding we have men risking their lives and they dont even realize the danger they are in. In racing its just common sense that your life is in danger when youre on a track with 60 other cars doing 200 mph. The dangers in bodybuilding are also much more insidious, and gradually build over time.