I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Roller Coasters May Cause Sudden Cardiac Death

From Reuters:
"The rising heart rate in riders with pre-existing heart disease could result in heart attack, irregular heart rhythms and possibly sudden cardiac death," said Dr Jurgen Kuschyk, who presented the findings of his study at the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions.

The German study of 37 men and 18 women volunteers with no heart disease and average age of 28 found heart rates increased dramatically both during and after the ride to an extent that could cause arrhythmias, or a dangerous irregular heart beat, in some people.

Forty-four percent of the participants had marked heart rhythm irregularities that lasted up to five minutes after their ride on the Expedition GeForce roller coaster at Holiday Park in Hassioch, Germany, researchers said.
Technorati Tags: Roller Coasters, Heart Disease