Jose Lima Dead at 37

[Shootmaster_44]

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=322482

I am shocked. I was hoping to see him play this year in Edmonton. I guess sometimes playing baseball at a high level takes something out of you. At least, its fairly safe it isn't due to Performance Enhancing Drugs/Illegal Drugs (unless he started during the winter) as the Golden League has WADA drug testing.

[Ol' Jase]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

Pretty crappy to go of a heart attack at 37.

RIP.

[Deathsdoorstep]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

Pretty crappy to go of a heart attack at 37.

RIP.

Yeah...I know what you mean.

[Blogger Avry]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

Sad, sad, story one of the funniest guys in baseball, RIP Jose.

[Evil Dr. Len]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

Lima Time has ended too soon, RIP

[GREYx14]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

There aren't enough (positive) interesting characters in pro sports these days. Jose Lima definitely fit into that category. It's sad to hear of his death.

[Spectacle]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

Oh wow... very sad news. I'm happy that I got to watch him with the Capitals, but this ended way too soon. He's only 4 years older than my brother.

[newton]

Re: Jose Lima Dead at 37

It is sad to lose anyone at such a young age. I must be aging into a bit of a sports cynic. Whenever an otherwise healthy young athlete dies I cant help but wonder if it isn't related in some way to steroid use.

People dont like to talk about steroids when somebody dies, because its like disparaging the dead ...but cardiac problems are absolutely a risk factor for using steroids.

I dont know if Lima ever used them, but we know pro sports and MLB has been rife with it for years...it makes me wonder. Even if he did it would still be tragic...I just remember friends using steroids when we trained many years ago ...and they never once thought about this kind of outcome.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2010) — Long-term anabolic steroid use may weaken the heart more than previously thought and may increase the risk of heart failure, according to research reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.
See Also:
Health & Medicine

* Heart Disease
* Vioxx
* Stroke Prevention
* Controlled Substances
* Cholesterol
* Chronic Illness

Reference

* Mitral valve
* Heart valve
* Androgen
* Echocardiography

Anabolic-androgenic steroids mimic the naturally occurring testosterone, a muscle-building hormone that promotes male sexual characteristics.

"Anabolic steroids, in addition to being illegal, have important health consequences," said Aaron L. Baggish, M.D., lead author of the study and instructor in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "I think for the first time we're starting to realize that the heart is one of the organs that is negatively impacted by long-term steroid use."

In the small study, investigators found that the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, was significantly weaker during contraction (systolic function) in participants who had taken steroids compared to a group of similar non-steroid users.

A healthy left ventricle pumps out 55 percent to 70 percent of the blood that fills the heart (a measurement known as ejection fraction). Eighty-three percent of steroid users in the 12-person study had a low pumping capacity (ejection fraction less than 55 percent) that previous studies have linked to increased risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. In contrast, only one of the non-steroid users had a low ejection fraction

.