SharonBates
09-20-2005, 03:48 PM
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
September 16, 2005 Friday
Heart defect caused soccer player's death
BYLINE: Brian C. Rittmeyer
BODY:
A Portersville Christian School soccer player who collapsed on the sidelines
during a game died from a heart defect, the Allegheny County Coroner's Office
said Thursday.
Shawn Slater, 18, of Prospect, died Monday after becoming dizzy and
collapsing during his team's match at the Western Pennsylvania School for the
Deaf in Edgewood. An autopsy showed Slater had a condition called hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, which causes a thickening of the heart muscle and can result in
sudden death.
In September 2004, Mars Area High School football player Nick Varrenti, 16,
died in his sleep from the condition.
Neither school officials nor Slater's family knew Slater had the condition,
said the Rev. Mike Charles, a Bible teacher at Portersville Christian. Family
members could not be reached for comment.
Slater suffered a dizzy spell in August while running at preseason practice,
Charles said. He underwent several tests and was diagnosed with mild asthma,
given an inhaler and cleared to play, Charles said.
"There was never any hint of that in the past, except for the one incident
they checked out," Charles said. "They thought everything was OK."
Slater told teammates he felt dizzy before collapsing Monday with eight
minutes left in a second overtime. Slater had played in about half of the game.
He died 2 1/2 hours later at UPMC Shadyside.
Two to five of every 1,000 people have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, according
to MedlinePlus, a Web site of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the
National Institutes of Health. The disorder causes the heart muscle to become
too thick to work properly. In some cases, the enlargement blocks the flow of
blood out of the heart.
The disease is usually inherited, and younger people are likely to have a
more severe form of it, MedlinePlus said. Some people affected by the disorder
go for many years without symptoms and have a normal life span, MedlinePlus
said.
A private school with a K-12 enrollment of 245, Portersville Christian
canceled classes today. The soccer team, which had a game last night, will
continue its season, Charles said.
"They know this is what Shawn would have wanted," he said.
One of 27 seniors at Portersville Christian, Slater was an honors student who
also played basketball and lifted weights.
Services for Slater are scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Portersville Bible
Church. Burial will follow in the Greenlawn Burial Estates in Mt. Chestnut.
LOAD-DATE: September 16, 2005
September 16, 2005 Friday
Heart defect caused soccer player's death
BYLINE: Brian C. Rittmeyer
BODY:
A Portersville Christian School soccer player who collapsed on the sidelines
during a game died from a heart defect, the Allegheny County Coroner's Office
said Thursday.
Shawn Slater, 18, of Prospect, died Monday after becoming dizzy and
collapsing during his team's match at the Western Pennsylvania School for the
Deaf in Edgewood. An autopsy showed Slater had a condition called hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, which causes a thickening of the heart muscle and can result in
sudden death.
In September 2004, Mars Area High School football player Nick Varrenti, 16,
died in his sleep from the condition.
Neither school officials nor Slater's family knew Slater had the condition,
said the Rev. Mike Charles, a Bible teacher at Portersville Christian. Family
members could not be reached for comment.
Slater suffered a dizzy spell in August while running at preseason practice,
Charles said. He underwent several tests and was diagnosed with mild asthma,
given an inhaler and cleared to play, Charles said.
"There was never any hint of that in the past, except for the one incident
they checked out," Charles said. "They thought everything was OK."
Slater told teammates he felt dizzy before collapsing Monday with eight
minutes left in a second overtime. Slater had played in about half of the game.
He died 2 1/2 hours later at UPMC Shadyside.
Two to five of every 1,000 people have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, according
to MedlinePlus, a Web site of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the
National Institutes of Health. The disorder causes the heart muscle to become
too thick to work properly. In some cases, the enlargement blocks the flow of
blood out of the heart.
The disease is usually inherited, and younger people are likely to have a
more severe form of it, MedlinePlus said. Some people affected by the disorder
go for many years without symptoms and have a normal life span, MedlinePlus
said.
A private school with a K-12 enrollment of 245, Portersville Christian
canceled classes today. The soccer team, which had a game last night, will
continue its season, Charles said.
"They know this is what Shawn would have wanted," he said.
One of 27 seniors at Portersville Christian, Slater was an honors student who
also played basketball and lifted weights.
Services for Slater are scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Portersville Bible
Church. Burial will follow in the Greenlawn Burial Estates in Mt. Chestnut.
LOAD-DATE: September 16, 2005