Preventing Death!

The sad incident of the 14th of February, 2013 involving our own pop star, Sussan Oluwabimpe Harvey -GOLDIE, leaves a big question regarding artiste's health in Nigeria and abroad. Her's was not the first of it's kind, considering the myriads of misfortunes that litters Hollywood and Nollywood in the recent past. However, Goldie's case had, in my opinion, the greatest shock and pain...for she was so young and full of life. According to those who were with her hours before her unfortunate demise, they said that there was no forewarning whatsoever about the incident that unfolded afterwards.

The big question now is: what caused her death.

After the news of her death, especially when it was also announced by her record label-KENIS MUSIC-, it became a fact that truly GOLDIE was gone. But then rumors began to fly around concerning the cause of death. Some instantly concluded that like Whitney Houston, the queen of POP, Goldie may have been into drugs. The social media was alive with all sought of analysis and arguments about the circumstances surrounding her death. There were also publications by some popular blogs, suggesting a possible cause of death.

Famous among all the speculations was the claim about "PULMONARY EMBOLISM" secondary to "DVT":

DVT is short for DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS. Meaning a blood clot in the large veins in the thighs or the lower legs. When for any reasons such clots break loose, they may travel to any part of the body such as the brain, lungs or heart.

Where ever they hit, they'll block off oxygen from getting through. If it hits the brain for example, it will lead to cerebral Ischemia, whereby brain cells die very quickly and of course, we are facing massive stroke in such patients. Where clinical intervention is not rapid, death follows rapidly. When such clots hit the lungs, we say such patients threw a P/E meaning, Pulmonary Embolism. Lungs got occluded, starved of oxygen and oxygenated blood and of course Death within a short while.

The other plausible cause which was also credited to the Lagos State University teaching Hospital,   LASUTH...where she was confirmed dead, disclosed that her death was caused by...

"An autopsy on late Nigerian pop star, Goldie Harvey, has revealed that the musician died of 'hypertensive heart disease' which triggered 'intracerebellar haemorrhage.'

The autopsy, done on February 19, was signed by Dr. O.O Oyewole of the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, according to a report on a celebrity blog, http://www.Olufamous.com. The blog also provided a copy of the autopsy report.

These revelation has put paid to speculations that the musician died of doping complications, a suggestion her widower, Andrew Harvey, quickly dismissed."  courtesy:http://allafrica.com/stories/201302201114.html

It is a relief to know that the young pop star didn't die from any drug related complications. But it is also scary to learn that other artistes, including this writer may be be in danger of DVT or Hypertensive Heart disease.

How to Avert 'Hypertensive heart Disease'

Most artistes may not understand that they can prevent such sudden death scenarios in their own lives. Hypertensive Heart Disease, if detected in time, death can be averted. How do you ensure that you don't become a victim? what can you do as an artiste, and indeed, as any individual to prevent a sudden death... as a result of hypertension? simple:

• Constantly check your blood pressure and live your life in absolute moderation.
• Don't drink irresponsibly;
• Cut down or quit smoking,
• Ensure that you are free from any type of infections, for example, STDs and related conditions. 

Hypertensive Heart Diseases and DVT (deep vein thrombosis) are made worse when left unchecked for a long period of time. Wether Goldie was aware of her condition and was probably on medication or not... still remains a puzzle; with her wealth and level of exposure, one would expect that she should have paid attention to these parameters. Sometimes it's not always about money...it is oftentimes about information and discipline.

Check your blood pressure today. Let's collectively try o avert this type of lose in the industry.

The question remains; what are artistes doing to avert such untimely death? is there some life style that predisposes one to such sad fate? How many artiste out there invest in life policies, medical check ups and health information.  We need to protect ourselves against untimely deaths.

Follow us on this platform as we research into the needed activities too sustain our precious and sweet life.

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