NFL prospect Heath Benedict died of irregular heartbeat; enlarged heart and drugs (Viagra) noted

Heath Benedict, a small college big time football player found dead at his home last March, appears to raise many questions.  At 6-6 and 320 pounds, any NFL prospect draws attention to possible steroid use, An early death compounds the concerns.  At the time this was said (USA Today)

Heath Benedict, a two-time Little All-American offensive lineman at Newberry College in South Carolina, was found dead on a couch in his Jacksonville home.

Jacksonville police said no foul play is suspected in the death of the 24-year-old Benedict, a 6-6, 326-pounder who finished up his senior season in the fall and left school to train for next month's NFL draft. He was nine hours short of a business degree.

Benedict took part in the Senior Bowl in January, the first Division II player to do so since 2004, and was invited to last month's NFL combine.

"He was a big, tough man, but he had a very gentle heart," Newberry president Mick Zais said. "He was a teddy bear."

Benedict, who redshirted at Tennessee in 2002 before moving to Newberry, was a native of the Netherlands. He played high school football at the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J.

More than a gentle heart - an enlarged heart with an irregular heartbeat.  What might cause cardiac hypertrophy?  A congenital condition, or drug use.  Drugs like anabolic steroids or more notoriously HGH can enlarge the heart, thus causing major problems.  And what was found at Benedict's house?  These drugs (The State):

Former Newberry College football standout Heath Benedict died of an irregular heartbeat caused by an enlarged heart, according to the Duval County Medical Examiner’s Office in Jacksonville, Fla.

The report also reveals a syringe and three bottles were found near his body on March 26. One of the bottles contained water, but the other two were labeled “L-Via” and “L-Dex,” liquid forms of the drugs Viagra and Arimidex.

Deputy chief medical examiner Jessie Giles made it clear Benedict’s death was caused by dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart-muscle disease that leads to a fatal irregular heartbeat. However, Giles said the role Viagra, an erectile dysfunction medication, and Arimidex, an anabolic steroid used by post-menopausal breast cancer patients to reduce estrogen levels, could not be determined.

“The role, if any, of anabolic steroid or other similar drug/preparation use ... is unknown and beyond the scope of this office,” Giles wrote in the report.

The newspaper distorted the facts somewhat.  Arimidex (anastrozole) is not an anabolic steroid, however is a masking agent or an anti-estrogen drug.  It acts by inhibiting conversion of androgenic steroids to estrogen, thus reducing side effects like enlarged breasts.

Injections of Viagra and Arimidex is somewhat bizarre.  Was this player attempting to maximize his NFL potential, yet trying to avoid detection at dope testing?

Stories recently centered on Viagra as PED, apparently used by big time drug-cheat Roger Clemens.  (Sporting News).  Listen to this quote attributed to Clemens:

Roger Clemens, among other athletes, used Viagra to improve their athletic performance, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

Clemens got the pills -- which are not banned by Major League Baseball -- from a teammate and kept them in a GNC vitamin bottle in his locker, according to an anonymous source cited by the newspaper. He also reportedly told a friend that the drug made him feel flushed and made his heart race. 

The newspaper also quotes BALCO founder Victor Conte as saying, "All my athletes took it," in reference to a Viagra-like drug.

The drug and its over-the-counter substitutes reportedly have numerous off-label uses. These include helping build endurance and delivering oxygen, nutrients and performance-enhancing drugs to muscles more efficiently.

Researchers at universities across the country are now trying to determine whether anecdotal evidence that Viagra aids in training and improves performance is based in scientific fact.

Heart racing?  Perhaps leading to cardiac arrhythmias in an athlete who might have primed his heart with anabolics?  This isn't good.  More on the topic later...

Add#1We added a continuation of the State article which stated that Benedict showed "two puncture wounds in his arm, which isn't consistent with anabolic steroids.

Add#2:  We found a research study where Arimidex increased testosterone in 'elderly men' from about 375 to 575.  Not a bad increase.  The mechanism appears to be by blocking the negative feedback from estrogen on LH/FSH or GNRH release in the pituitary.

 

Two possible puncture marks were noticed on Benedict’s left arm, according to the report. But such marks are not consistent with the use of steroids, which are typically injected in the buttocks or near the hip.

A toxicology report found caffeine and ethanol in Benedict’s bloodstream. The ethanol likely was formed by the body’s decomposition.

Viagra and Arimidex are considered to be on the leading edge of doping and steroid abuse in professional sports. Neither are banned substances, but they have specific benefits in athletic training.

Viagra played a starring role in the investigation into Roger Clemens’ alleged steroid use. The New York Daily News reported this month that Viagra, known as “Vitamin V” in clubhouses, is a popular pick-me-up for athletes seeking an edge. Viagra’s use has become so widespread that anti-doping officials are mulling possible action to curb it.

Meanwhile, Arimidex’s primary use among athletes is to elevate testosterone levels while preventing the hormone from breaking down into estrogen, which can have harmful effects on muscle growth.

Arimidex is relatively new and has yet to be banned by the NFL, though its properties are similar to many anabolic steroid and anti-estrogenic agents on the banned-substances list.

Arimidex has drawn a lot of attention on steroid and body-building Web sites for its impressive results in concert with other drugs during a steroid cycle.

Both drugs increase blood pressure, which aids in the delivery of oxygen to muscles during activity but could strain a diseased heart such as Benedict’s, according to each drugs’ literature.

Comments

You forgot to mention a very common cause of cardiac hypertrophy in elite athletes - heavy weight training.

[Millard Baker]

You forgot to mention a very common cause of cardiac hypertrophy in elite athletes - heavy weight training.

[Millard Baker]

Please do not allow "The State" article to mislead you. As you already noted, they do a good job at "distorting the facts."

They are trying to imply that the drugs Arimidex and Viagra were injected by talking about punctures on the arm and syringes found at the scene.

Don't fall for it.

Just because the drugs are found in a solution rather than in pill form, this doesn't mean they are injected. The liquid versions of these drugs are the most commonly used versions by bodybuilders and athletes on internet forums - and everyone knows to take them orally (except for sports writers).

[Steroid Nation]

Thanks for the comments. I added more from the State on 'puncture wounds' which sound odd. Steroids are generally administered into the muscles in depot form. What would be administered iv?

We also thought the medical examiner wimped out by not commenting on the effects of drugs. Why do medical examiner's consistently overlook the use of HGH and other cardiac toxic drugs? How about narcotics and other pain killers.

Good point about heavy exercise increasing heart size. Often this is an adaptive change in athletes -- increasing heart size. Is there a difference between adaptive and maladaptive cardiac enlargement (cardiomypathy)? We have to plead ignorance on that issue, as that is more of a pathology question. We will do some digging into that question.

The medical examiner ruled Benedict died of a fatal arrhythmia, based on soem evidence, which is again beyond our scope. We will consult with a pathologist to clarify this point.

[Millard Baker]

Yes, heavy lifting results in a specific type of cardiac enlargement - concentric left ventricular hypertrophy - that is not pathological.

[Millard Baker]

More information about LVH:

Dickerman RD, Schaller F, McConathy WJ. Left ventricular wall thickening does occur in elite power athletes with or without anabolic steroid use. Cardiology 1998 Oct;90(2):145-8

Summary found here - http://tinyurl.com/4phxyt

"During heavy lifting, systemic blood pressure is increased from what is called the valsalva maneuver. It is simply the act of forceful expiration with the mouth and nose closed producing a "bearing down" on the abdomen. Pressure also increases due to blood vessels being occluded by contracting muscles. It should be noted that the LVH seen in bodybuilders and power lifters is called "concentric left ventricular hypertrophy", meaning that it is the result of contracting against acute increased systemic pressure, and was not considered pathological. "Eccentric" LVH is caused by constant increases of blood pressure not as a result of the valsalva maneuver but instead clinical hypertension that forces the ventrical to expand against resistance. It was previously believed that the intermittent increase in blood pressure that is caused by heavy lifting was not sufficient to elicit left concentric ventricular hypertrophy (CLVH). Any evidence of CLVH in strength athletes or bodybuilders was seen as a sign of anabolic steroid use.

"In the study above researchers identified LVH at or beyond 13mm in not only bodybuilders using anabolic steroids but also in "drug free" athletes as well. Although it was shown that those using anabolics showed significantly more ventricular thickening, at least one drug free athlete was beyond the 13mm limit."

[Steroid Nation]

Good point Millard.

We need to review that literature much more before commenting on it. We know a forensic pathologist we will call up.

Do medical examiners look at things in this depth? Don't know for sure.

The problem here is that we don't know his medical history. He could be taking prescription drugs, or other substances.

The conclusion of a cardiac arrhythmia is speculation, of course.

[Steroid Nation]

One more point...we ran across a paper looking at neurotoxicity of testosterone. T by itself wasn't neurotoxic to cells in culture in doses studied. However when Arimidex was added to the culture, the low dose of T was neurotoxic.

There is a huge jump between nerve cells in culture and heart cells, however nerve cells and the conduction cells of the heart conduction system are called 'excitable cells' in that they conduct electrical (chemical) impulses.

Someone in grad school needs to study this...

[Millard Baker]

Thanks for the info on neurotoxicity of testosterone in the presence of arimidex. The aromatization to estradiol clearly has a big protective effect. I've known about the protective effects of estrogen on lipid profiles. Also, I've heard about estrogens protective effects on the brain (but NOT in the context of the neurotoxic effects of androgens). Feel free to email me anything on this matter.

Many bodybuilders (because of their anxiety about gynecomastia) take too much arimidex and/or other aromatase inhibitors with aromatizable steroids like testosterone. I would go on to say that this is increasingly responsible for the adverse effects on lipid profiles seen nowadays in this population.

[Conduction System]

Good point about heavy exercise increasing heart size. Often this is an adaptive change in athletes -- increasing heart size.

[generic levitra]

It's sad to learn about the demise as no one will wish that an emerging quality player, still young enough to lead his side to many wins is not alive.

[Bycycle Trailers]

Well now, I was searching for blogs on fitness or health when i came across this post. Although not exactly what I was expecting I will give it ****.

[doxycycline]

Well now, I was searching for blogs on fitness or health when i came across this post. Although not exactly what I was expecting I will give it ****.http://www.doxycycline.co

[cialis soft tab]

Thanks for this post. The timing could not have been more perfect.

[Invertir en oro]

hello, i would like to read more information about this topic because i think that is very interesting.

[Download Ea sports cricket 2011]

I like your site and contents .keep it up.