Eddie's cause of death announced

As reported by WWE.com, Eddie died of "heart failure brought on by past drug and alcohol abuse." It was good to know that he did not die because he had been taking drugs, or that he had drugs in his system.

 

Eddie's wife, Vicki, went on to report "They found signs of heart disease. She (the examiner) said that the blood vessels were very worn and narrow, and that just showed all the abuse from the scheduling of work and his past. And Eddie just worked out like crazy all the time. It made his heart grow bigger and work harder and the vessels were getting smaller, and that’s what caused the heart failure...As soon as they saw his heart, they saw the lining of his heart already had the heart disease. There was no trauma, and Eddie hadn’t hurt himself in any way." It had been reported he was found collapsed, in the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

 

I'm glad they put this out there, to put to rest any claims that he had died because he was hiding his "drug habit" and that he hadn't really "recovered." This will help with Eddie's legacy that he did overcome his demons, and died with honor.

 

Your actions do have consequences though, and sometimes those consequences can be magnified by other things. One has to wonder about the "It made his heart grow bigger" part. I think this is due to steroids, although I doubt anyone will say that. I don't know about, nor have ever read that, working out causes your heart to grow bigger. Heart muscles are a different type of muscle fiber than regular muscles, such as those found in your arms and legs. They don't grow the same way, and have to be stimulated differently to grow (aka by steroids). In addition, an enlarged heart is not a good condition.

 

I've been a weight lifter on and off for several years. I go through spurts where I will put on weight, and then lose the weight. I've stayed trim my whole life, never really getting chubby, and am in really good shape right now. Reading that this was caused by "heart related problems" has grabbed my attention. It makes me worried, keeps me up at night.

 

Last night, for example, I had trouble falling asleep. I could feel my heart beating, I had a few palpitations, and I couldn't relax. I ended up getting up and going upstairs to read a book, that way I wouldn't keep up Bebe. Eddie kept going through my head, maybe because I had just seen his tribute show that night, but I had this feeling that he died because of a problem with his heart. Today, my fears were proved correct.

 

Heart disease is the number one killer in America today. It has no cure, only preventative measures that one can take. Fortunately, I do not have a history of heart disease in my family. I am not overweight, I quit smoking a few years ago (I only smoked for three years or so, and never more than half a pack a day or so), and do not drink very much anymore. I exercise regularly, do not eat much fatty foods (although I do love me some peanuts), and get plenty of fiber in my diet. I'm confident that I don't have heart disease.

 

But what else might be causing my problems? Could it be stress? Likely. Could it be something else? Maybe. The point is, I don't know, and there is no way for me to find out. What I do know is that I am concerned...concerned that I've done the right things in my life and yet, something could be wrong with me, something I don't deserve. I'm probably overreacting, but I think my point is valid.

 

My pops always said "life isn't fair," in all fairness I'm sure my mom said that too, and he's right. You never know when your time might come up, so you've got to be sure that at the end of each day, you'd be happy if it's your last. Don't go to sleep angry. Don't hold grudges. Always tell your significant others you love them. Do things you enjoy doing at night, put the work aside. Don't stop dreaming, ever. And finally, eat desert first.

 

-O