Sudden deaths in gyms could also be due to aneurysms

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The death of the 35-year-old woman Vinaya Vittal while working out in the Challenge Health Club at Malleshpayla, which was predictingly reasoned as a heart attack, is found to be due to an aneurysm (bulging or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain).

Doctors warn that it is not just cardiac arrest that people need to take care of, but also of these conditions where sudden deaths can happen due to ‘brain attack’. Doctors warn that people with such conditions should take extra care while hitting the gym.

Initially, it was suspected that she had died of a heart attack. After her death, the jurisdictional Baiyappanahalli police had registered a case of unnatural death.

The postmortem was conducted at the CV Raman General Hospital. The post-mortem report clarified that the death was due to Aneurysm.

Vinay Vittal, a resident of GM Palya died en route to a hospital after she collapsed near the squat rack. The incident happened in the last week of March. The victim was working for a private company located in Mangaluru. She is said to have been staying alone in a rented house. The footage of her collapsing in the gym premises went viral on social media. As it was a medico-legal case, the hospital reported the matter to the jurisdictional Baiyappanahalli police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Dr. Bheemashankar S Guled, under whose jurisdiction the incident happened, clarified that the cause of the death is an aneurysm. Guled, who had completed MBBS before clearing UPSC, told TNIE that people with such problems should be extra careful.

“The cause of death came to light after the post-mortem was conducted at the CV Raman General Hospital in Indiranagar. It is a condition and will come to know only when one goes for a thorough checkup”, the DCP added.

Neurologists opinioned that an aneurysm is difficult to find out unless people go for CT angiogram or MR angiogram tests.

Dr. NK Venkataramana, Founder Chairman, Chief Neurosurgeon, BRAINS Hospital told TNIE, “Aneurysm constitutes about 10 to 15 percent of all brain hemorrhages. Most of them are from defective blood vessels. Nowadays the concept is called brain attack which includes brain strokes and brain hemorrhage.

“An aneurysm can be found out through a brain angiogram. People with a history of diabetes, hypertension, family history, and heart attacks should undergo the test. All the risk factors are the same for both the heart and the brain. Because of brain activity, even electrical disturbances can be seen in the heart. People doing high-intensity workouts should be monitored.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Satishchandra P, Neurologist, Apollo Hospital said, “Aneurysm is a bulge in the blood vessel which is like a balloon, which is considered a weak spot. It occurs inside the brain with a thin wall.  Due to the thin wall, it can rupture anytime.

“People without knowing it and if involved in heavy exercises are prone to such ruptures. There are many causes for the rupture.  The weak spot may be there for a very long time, sometimes even from birth. Severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and convulsions are some of the symptoms of aneurysm. It has to be either removed or operated on or can be blocked through neuro interventional radiology. CT angiogram or MR angiogram help to identify aneurysm.”