Greg Kovacs Dies at Age 44

[SpecialDeliveryJones]

DC making a strong case...

 

[DOGGCRAPP]

I could go on and on with others like all the below and etc

hans hopstaken
curtis leffler
that ZZZ kid
Michael clarke Duncan
Jorma Raty
Don Ross
a bunch of other amateurs
a huge bunch of wrestlers
a whole bunch of bodybuilders that have survived heart attacks and disease
like
Coe
Mattarrazzo
Padilla
Tim belknap
etc etc etc

but I will leave it there.

Something is happening....(and I have my thoughts on what the majority of the problem is but its more of a hopeful thought)

 

[SpecialDeliveryJones]

C'mon DC! You gotta tell us your theory?
Can't leave SD Jones hanging like that!!!

 

[Kevinhy]

I could go on and on with others like all the below and etc

hans hopstaken
curtis leffler
that ZZZ kid
Michael clarke Duncan
Jorma Raty
Don Ross
a bunch of other amateurs
a huge bunch of wrestlers
a whole bunch of bodybuilders that have survived heart attacks and disease
like
Coe
Mattarrazzo
Padilla
Tim belknap
etc etc etc

but I will leave it there.

Something is happening....(and I have my thoughts on what the majority of the problem is but its more of a hopeful thought)

I hope you can share with us your thoughts and theories on how to avoid becoming another number, aside from just stating PED/AAS are going to kill you (I'm sure you wouldnt however, I would expect a very detailed and thought provoking concept on the matter from you)

 

[Monte Brogan]

You must not know many people who drink large amounts of alcohol for prolonged periods of time. There is no escaping the organ damage that accompanies that. I've known people who suffered from wet brain, scirosis (sp), kidney problems, stomach problems etc. If you drink excessively for long enough it WILL catch up with you. It's a matter of when, not if.

Rich, I wish I didn't. But I have several heavy drinkers - including some addicts - in my family, including my immediate family. Some have no *known* physical ailments. Is there something lurking beneath? Maybe. But I still believe some people are more resistant to alcohol and tobacco than others.

Several people in this thread posted about relatives that smoked their entire lives and simply died of natural causes. Everyone is built differently. Better to err on the side of caution since we don't know which category we fall into...

Monte

 

[lhouay]

Well there was a study conducted about 3 years ago that Showed Long-term use of AAS steroids APPEARS to weaken the heart and MAY have an Impact on Heart Pumping Function and it is not clear if this weakening is reversible, researchers say. (I guess nothing in medicine is 100% set in stone
hence the use of appears and may, BUT Most of the guys that DC posted, died because of some type of heart problem which makes for a strong argument...)

-In a small but alarming new study, middle-aged weight lifters who took steroids for roughly a decade showed evidence of impaired heart pumping function that was not seen in weight lifters who did not take steroids.

The finding suggests that many years of anabolic steroid use weakens the heart more than has been previously recognized, says cardiologist and study researcher Aaron L. Baggish, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

It may also have important public health implications because the use of steroids to improve sports performance is no longer the exclusive domain of a small group of elite athletes.

Steroids use is now common in fighting sports, such as boxing and mixed martial arts, in addition to weight lifting, Baggish says.

Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced drugs that mimic the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone, which builds muscle.

"Steroid use in the general public wasn't really an issue until the late 1980s or even the mid-1990s," Baggish tells WebMD. "Even now, when we hear about steroids it's because a professional baseball player or cyclist has taken them. But the vast majority of steroid use is now happening among casual athletes who work 9-to-5 jobs."

Impact of Steroids on the Heart

In an effort to better understand the impact of long-term anabolic steroid use on the heart, Baggish and colleagues performed heart function testing on 12 weight lifters who took steroids and seven who did not take the drugs.

The average age of the study participants was 40, and the steroid users had taken the drug for an average of nine years. The two groups were similar with respect to duration of weight lifting, total physical activity level, and weight, but the steroid users had more muscle mass than nonusers.

Doppler echocardiography ultrasound was used to examine blood flow through the heart.

In most of the steroid users, the heart's main pumping chamber, known as the left ventricle, showed evidence of weakness during contraction.

A healthy left ventricle pumps 55% to 70% of the blood that fills the heart. This measurement is known as ejection fraction.

Ten of the 12 steroid users had ejection fractions of less than 55%, which has been linked to an increased risk for heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest.

Only one of the seven weightlifters with no history of steroid use had a low ejection fraction.

The steroid users also showed evidence of impaired diastolic function, which is the ability of the left ventricle to relax and fill with blood following contraction.

Left ventricle relaxation was reduced by almost half among steroid users compared to nonusers.
The study appears in the latest issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

It was originally intended as a pilot study, but the findings were so striking the researchers decided they needed to be published.

It is not clear if the impact of long-term steroid use on the heart is reversible when the drugs are stopped, Baggish says.

"The hope is this will make physicians aware than an important cause of left ventricular dysfunction in young people who are otherwise healthy may be anabolic steroid use," he says. "Doctors need to ask their patients if they use steroids."

San Francisco cardiologist Ann F. Bolger, MD, says larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.

But she agrees that anabolic steroid use needs to be on the radar of clinicians who are evaluating their patients' heart disease risk.

Bolger is a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and she is a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

"This is a wake-up call to practitioners to ask about steroid use," she says. "We would never dream of not asking if a patient smokes or if they have high blood pressure or diabetes. But I'm guessing very few ask about steroid use.

 

[SpecialDeliveryJones]

These deaths do always seem to be linked to the heart.

 

[TheDeceiver]

Another mass monster from the 90's.A bunch of them seem to have problems with there health.

 

[richiec]

Rich, I wish I didn't. But I have several heavy drinkers - including some addicts - in my family, including my immediate family. Some have no *known* physical ailments. Is there something lurking beneath? Maybe. But I still believe some people are more resistant to alcohol and tobacco than others.

Several people in this thread posted about relatives that smoked their entire lives and simply died of natural causes. Everyone is built differently. Better to err on the side of caution since we don't know which category we fall into...

Monte

I am a recovering addict & alcoholic and have seen some of the worst these can do. My dad smoked for 35 yrs, multiple packs a day. He didn't develop lung cancer or esophagus (sp) issues, but he was far from healthy. I've yet to meet someone who drinks large amounts of alcohol or smokes like a chimney who doesn't have health issues and I call BS on people who say that. Yeah, they may not have wet brain, scirosis and other major issues, but they have health issues. And it all catches up to you at some point.

Some people develop issues faster than others, but make no mistake, everyone does suffer adverse health issues from these things. The people who do not develop major problems are the exception, not the rule. There are more people that experience health issues than not. I personally dipped at least 1 can a day for 15 yrs and didn't have "major" issues, but my gums wear receeding pretty bad. I was fortunate to not have any major health issues as I was a heavy drinker and rec drug user at that time as well. But I'm not the rule, I was the exception. Does that mean I should go back to it because I was okay, of course not. But, why would people want to take these chances ya know. I agree with some of what you're saying, but like stated earlier, there are exceptions to the rule and I'm not sure why people would chance it

 

[Monte Brogan]

I am a recovering addict & alcoholic and have seen some of the worst these can do. My dad smoked for 35 yrs, multiple packs a day. He didn't develop lung cancer or esophagus (sp) issues, but he was far from healthy. I've yet to meet someone who drinks large amounts of alcohol or smokes like a chimney who doesn't have health issues and I call BS on people who say that. Yeah, they may not have wet brain, scirosis and other major issues, but they have health issues. And it all catches up to you at some point.

Some people develop issues faster than others, but make no mistake, everyone does suffer adverse health issues from these things. The people who do not develop major problems are the exception, not the rule. There are more people that experience health issues than not. I personally dipped at least 1 can a day for 15 yrs and didn't have "major" issues, but my gums wear receeding pretty bad. I was fortunate to not have any major health issues as I was a heavy drinker and rec drug user at that time as well. But I'm not the rule, I was the exception. Does that mean I should go back to it because I was okay, of course not. But, why would people want to take these chances ya know. I agree with some of what you're saying, but like stated earlier, there are exceptions to the rule and I'm not sure why people would chance it

First, congratulations on your recovery. That is great news and I wish you the best.

Second, I agree w/you - people with no apparent issues are the exception not the rule. It is definitely a gamble because no one can predict how their body will react. Ultimately we all have to pay the price for our choices. And as you said, for some that day comes sooner than others...

Best,
Monte

 

[nothuman]

I could go on and on with others like all the below and etc

hans hopstaken
curtis leffler
that ZZZ kid
Michael clarke Duncan
Jorma Raty
Don Ross
a bunch of other amateurs
a huge bunch of wrestlers
a whole bunch of bodybuilders that have survived heart attacks and disease
like
Coe
Mattarrazzo
Padilla
Tim belknap
etc etc etc

but I will leave it there.

Something is happening....(and I have my thoughts on what the majority of the problem is but its more of a hopeful thought)

No way. We're not gonna let you off the hook with that one.

 

[Machine1986]

First, congratulations on your recovery. That is great news and I wish you the best.

Second, I agree w/you - people with no apparent issues are the exception not the rule. It is definitely a gamble because no one can predict how their body will react. Ultimately we all have to pay the price for our choices. And as you said, for some that day comes sooner than others...

Best,
Monte

Very well said.

 

[kingpeon]

Damn! I'm glad I'm natty

 

[lhouay]

Damn! I'm glad I'm natty and weak

 

[kingpeon]

Weaker than Greg Kovacs? yes, weaker than you? not likely.

 

[lhouay]

Weaker than Greg Kovacs? yes, weaker than you? not likely.

Well played

 

[ProSupplyCoRep]

What a shame .. RIP Greg

 

[KillerStack]

Don't forget the sleep apnea/heart connection. Don't know if it was mentioned in this thread, if so I missed it. Maybe this is what DC was hinting at.

Was reminded of it watching this video about powerlifter Ryan Kennelly who says his insides are fucked from steroid use, and also mentions sleep apnea enlarging his heart.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePkzZBNwWFQ"]sentencing mitigation video - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Yod]

I could go on and on with others like all the below and etc

hans hopstaken
curtis leffler
that ZZZ kid
Michael clarke Duncan
Jorma Raty
Don Ross
a bunch of other amateurs
a huge bunch of wrestlers
a whole bunch of bodybuilders that have survived heart attacks and disease
like
Coe
Mattarrazzo
Padilla
Tim belknap
etc etc etc

but I will leave it there.

Something is happening....(and I have my thoughts on what the majority of the problem is but its more of a hopeful thought)

If only they had supp’ed with curcumin......

 

[AshopRep]

Don't forget the sleep apnea/heart connection. Don't know if it was mentioned in this thread, if so I missed it. Maybe this is what DC was hinting at.

Was reminded of it watching this video about powerlifter Ryan Kennelly who says his insides are fucked from steroid use, and also mentions sleep apnea enlarging his heart.

sentencing mitigation video - YouTube

I've got sleep apnea and it's really taking it's toll.