NY Daily News: "Xbox Addict" dies of sitting-induced blood clot

Vegan

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/07/30/2011-07-30_xbox_addict_chris_staniforth_killed_by_blood_clot_after_marathon_gaming_session_.html

NY Daily News wrote:

The family of an Xbox addict, who recently died during a marathon session playing video games, is pleading to other parents to protect their kids from excessive gaming.

An autopsy revealed that Chris Staniforth, 20, suffered from deep vein thrombosis, which can be triggered by sitting in one position for long periods of time.

Staniforth, of Sheffield, England would play on his console for up to 12 hours in one sitting.

A coroner said his death in May was caused by a clot formed in the young man's left calf before it moved to his lungs. Once it reached there, it caused a fatal blockage.

Staniforth, who loved playing "Halo" with people all over the world, collapsed shortly after telling a friend he had been feeling painful sensations in his chest.

"He said his heart rate had been incredibly low but it went back to normal and he fell asleep again," recounted his devastated father, David Staniforth to London's Sun.

"Then he dropped a packet of chewing gum and as he picked it up, he jolted back and began to spasm."

The friend called medics, but it was too late.

Professor Brian Colven, an expert on blood-related conditions, told the newspaper it was unhealthy for gamers to spend long periods playing video games.

While deep vein thrombosis normally affects travelers on long flights, doctors are now concerned video gamers could be at risk too.

"There's anxiety about obesity and children not doing anything other than looking at computer screens," he said.

Let's be fair, people sit on the asses for extended amounts of time doing LOTS of things. It's practically part of our culture now to come home and watch TV for the rest of the night.

Shanadeus

People should try to take a break from any form of sitting activity at least once an hour.

cooljammer00

Why does no one listen to those packets in old game boy games? 15 minutes of rest for every hour, right?

anoffday

I also hate how after something like this happens the parents feel it's their need to inform everyone of the dangers of whatever happened.

Newsflash, most of us don't play games for 12 hours straight, let alone have the time.

Bartholamue

cooljammer00 wrote:

Why does no one listen to those packets in old game boy games? 15 minutes of rest for every hour, right?

Yeah, that's right.

Also, this couldn't have happened to a 20 year old without him having a very unhealthy lifestyle. He was probably not eating right, taking too long to go to the bathroom, not taking breaks, etc. I'm just glad the dad isn't all "Blame the vidja games"

Figgy

Why don't blood clots form when you're sleeping? Isn't there more to it than simply, "he sat there for too long?"

And yes, thanks, kid's parents. I thought it was perfectly healthy to play video games so much that your blood stops flowing.

What the article fails to mention is that he was also overweight.

Indica1

Fat kills.

Edit: didn't see the above post, but I mean come on, this kid could have died with six pack abs? His death was triggered by bending over to pick up gum.

Figgy

Indica1 wrote:

Fat kills.

Not sure if that was sarcasm directed at me or just a quip, but I wasn't implying anything other than the fact that it's an important part of the story because not only did he sit there for 12 hours at a time, but he was also unhealthy to begin with.

And from another article:

Mr Staniforth said: "After my research I saw there was no difference to Chris sitting at a desk on his Xbox and someone on a long-haul flight.

"Sitting still is literally the danger zone. Chris loved to play and would stay up all night.

"Millions of people worldwide are playing these games for hours, and there is a risk."

How about the fact that you apparently gave up on your kid and let him spend the vast majority of his waking hours on his ass playing video games? "Sitting still" isn't the problem. It's repeated, lengthy bouts of not moving a muscle other than your thumbs. And he wasn't just playing "for hours," because yes, millions of people do play these games for hours, but the number is far, far, fewer of those who play for 12 hours.

Pass that buck. You didn't fail as a parent. It was that we aren't educated enough about the danger zone of sitting still!

I say we sue chairs.

anoffday

Suing chairs? That's just silly.

I say we ban chairs.

Zilla360

https://twitter.com/Stano82
https://twitter.com/stanspaceman

Sep 28th, 2010: has got no mates and needs a right nice bird, proper depressed

Poor guy. DVT can strike anyone, but not taking care of himself & over-doing it like that meant it was bound to happen.

Indica1

I feel more anger at people like that than pity. Think of the thousands of decisions he made every day that made him weaker and weaker until his body finally killed him.

I do think addict is the proper term though.

Figgy

Indica1 wrote:

I feel more anger at people like that than pity. Think of the thousands of decisions he made every day that made him weaker and weaker until his body finally killed him.

I do think addict is the proper term though.

Sure, but it's just another misleading headline. What's really the story, here? The story is that an unhealthy young adult who would sit for hours at a time playing video games died from a pulmonary embolus. What are the first two words of that headline? The words people are going to remember after the fact? Never mind that 90% of people who read the newspaper won't even get past the headline or the lead.

People read that and think, "He was an X-box addict. He died because he was addicted to video games."

Jurg

Figgy wrote:

Indica1 wrote:

I feel more anger at people like that than pity. Think of the thousands of decisions he made every day that made him weaker and weaker until his body finally killed him.

I do think addict is the proper term though.

Sure, but it's just another misleading headline. What's really the story, here? The story is that an unhealthy young adult who would sit for hours at a time playing video games died from a pulmonary embolus. What are the first two words of that headline? The words people are going to remember after the fact? Never mind that 90% of people who read the newspaper won't even get past the headline or the lead.

People read that and think, "He was an X-box addict. He died because he was addicted to video games."

News outlet a sensationalist piece of crap, more at eleven.

Bartholamue

I have a feeling that this will turn into another story where video games can be a scapegoat.

Sterica

From Wikipedia:

Prevention consists of adequate hydration (drinking, abstaining from alcoholic beverages and caffeine),

I'm blaming Mountain Dew and energy drink companies.

fRAWRst

anoffday wrote:

I also hate how after something like this happens the parents feel it's their need to inform everyone of the dangers of whatever happened.

Newsflash, most of us don't play games for 12 hours straight, let alone have the time.

This. I have no idea but im guessing this is a guy who was unemployed, would wake up at 2 pm and start playing COD till 4-5 am. Rinse and repeat. Good parenting or hell, even a dog that needed walking would've prevented this.

Mulletude

Yeah...Newsflash...Leading a mainly sedentary lifestyle can be lethal.

I feel bad for his family but a man this young shouldn't have these kind of health issues.

cooljammer00

Shoulda bought Kinect.

Triple B

Yeah you really have to be grotesquely unhealthy before the video games come into play for this shit to happen at 20.

Aye, if video games personified could respond to this situation, I think it would go something like this:

TheOrange

I do sit for 4 hours straight at work sometimes, I guess I'll take more water cooler breaks, and start losing wieght 'cause damn, while I never got this far sitting at one place, I am a bit heavier so probably should be careful.

taliosfalcon

Triple B wrote:

Yeah you really have to be grotesquely unhealthy before the video games come into play for this shit to happen at 20.

Aye, if video games personified could respond to this situation, I think it would go something like this:

blood clots can just randomly happen and kill you no matter what shape you're in, sitting for extended periods make it more likely sure, but as sterling archer put it about brain aneurysms , "it can happen anywhere at anytime, that's what makes it so terrifying."

Sterica

While I spent too much time at my PC, I'm getting up every 4 hours AT THE MOST. Most of the time it's every hour or two. I have a hard time imagining being glued to my seat for 12 hours straight.

manwiththemachinegun

I have to call some sort of bullshit on that Talio, because people have been living just fine for thousands of years dying of many, many horrible things that in no way include sitting on your ass until you die.

Sure, this clot was a freak thing, but I doubt it's common or Americans would be keeling over in the streets.

The poor guy was overweight and likely depressed to be playing games that much. He wasted away, just not from lack of food.

Lilnoobs

Sitting in the workplace or anywhere else for extended periods of time has been recently linked to higher rates of heart problems as well.

Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods - even if you also exercise regularly - could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place - at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV - just the overall number of hours it occurs.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/20/health/healthy_living/main6119907.shtml

So while it seems "no duh" not to allow your child to play videogames for 12+ hours a day, it's important to learn from cases like these that no one is immune from health risks if they decide to sit for extended periods of time, be it at work or playing games.

Also, be careful of using weight as a scapegoat. Many people quickly say others will use videogames as a scapegoat, but fail to see their own prejudices when it comes to weight.

Seeks

I have to call some sort of bullshit on that Talio, because people have been living just fine for thousands of years dying of many, many horrible things that in no way include sitting on your ass until you die.

It happened to my uncle when he was 16, killing him. This was before video games existed, maybe even before color television. He was perfectly healthy and normal for a 16-year-old, so it does happen.

Enig

The statement "it is unhealthy to spend long periods playing video games" is quite valid, and in more ways than one. One of those ways, for the majority of games, is the affect being immobile has on your circulatory system.

Obviously video games are not at fault, but it is still worth warning people against being overly sedentary.

DisruptorX2

Died doing what he loved.

mere_immortal

Enig wrote:

The statement "it is unhealthy to spend long periods playing video games" is quite valid, and in more ways than one. One of those ways, for the majority of games, is the affect being immobile has on your circulatory system.

Obviously video games are not at fault, but it is still worth warning people against being overly sedentary.

Replace Video Games with Reading/Watching Television/Knitting or whatever this generation's social pariah may be.

Zoku Gojira

A lot of Americans work 10-12 hours at a time at a desk job. And many of those then 'unwind' for hours on end watching TV or attending sporting events on hard, uncompromising seats.

This isn't a new problem, nor is it the fault of video games. It's a reminder to get up and move around, wherever you are and whatever has you glued to your seat.

RidleySaria

I work 10 1/2 hour work days (when there aren't furloughs) and I know better than to sit there the whole time. Instead of sleeping or eating my lunch at a desk during my lunch break, I walk laps around the parking lot.

Tommatt

I've had my share of video game addictions. But I always get up and move. Shit, piss, eat, etc. I honestly don't see how this and the 73 hour straight sessions happen

Dunxco

Oh hey I wondered if this was going to pop up on here.

Figgy wrote:

Sure, but it's just another misleading headline. What's really the story, here? The story is that an unhealthy young adult who would sit for hours at a time playing video games died from a pulmonary embolus. What are the first two words of that headline? The words people are going to remember after the fact? Never mind that 90% of people who read the newspaper won't even get past the headline or the lead.

People read that and think, "He was an X-box addict. He died because he was addicted to video games."

Front page of yesterday's The Sun.

Me? I do have a lot of free time on my hands these days and I do end up spending a lot of that in front of the machine (either looking for more work or playing LoL) but I always make sure to take regular breaks, have a stretch, wander around the garden etc. Might have to start doing a lot more of that just to sate my personal paranoia. Good thing I can choose between sitting and standing on the fly while at work.

Dashui

Dunxco wrote:

Might have to start doing a lot more of that just to sate my personal paranoia.

This. :P

Time to get out my iPod and go on regular walks more often.

Hahnsoo1

DVTs that kick up into the lungs can kill anyone. That's why they have you stretch on planes (depending on the airline), nowadays, in addition to all the other crappy things they do to you on a plane trip. Fat, skinny, young, old... there are certain genetic predispositions for it, but it's a fairly common thing to look for when you find someone with shortness of breath and cardiopulmonary distress. The last case I saw of a saddle embolus happened to a healthy 22 year old swimmer. While being overweight is mentioned as a risk factor, there are few studies that show any significant increase in risk.

Standing up and stretching every hour (or more) is great advice. The same goes for airplane trips, long road trips, long sessions of knitting, etc. Any activity where you are going to be motionless for lengthy periods of time, you should get up, stretch, and ambulate.

The gaming didn't kill him... the sitting still for long periods of time did. Which often happens when gamers are playing, but it's pretty easy to alleviate.

Morvidus

Figgy wrote:

Why don't blood clots form when you're sleeping?

I'd be dead as much as I sleep. Painkillers might be keeping me alive...

KalTorak

Ask your doctor if Anti-Sitting Couch-Spikes are right for you.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

mere_immortal

Aegeri wrote:

Clearly he needs a kinect and dance central. Believe it or not, I'm not even being entirely sarcastic as I will often pop the game in and play it for 30 minutes or so after 3-4 hours or something else. I find it rather relaxing in an odd way to just break up shooting mans in Crysis 2 or whatever.

Ditto but with Rock Band drumming.

turtleant

Anybody getting paranoid about this condition should stop. Deep vein thrombosis is caused by blood clotting because it's not circulating in your blood vessels. It can be caused by sitting, since your veins (the blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart) rely on muscle activity to move the blood, unlike arteries which have the blood in them moved by the pumping of the heart. So any muscle activity will move the blood through your veins. You don't need to go on a walk, or exercise, or anything else to avoid this. Standing up to take a pee, or get a drink, or answer the door, any activity moves the blood in your veins. You would have to be sitting perfectly still for sitting alone to cause a thrombosis. This was basically a freak occurrence, and it could have happened even if he was in great health and active. It's the same principal as heart attacks or strokes, it can happen to anybody.
So don't get worried about it, I'm sure everybody here is not sitting still long enough to cause a thrombosis by that alone.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/deep-vein-thrombosis/DS01005

dbrock270

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-14350216

It's on the BBC too.

urahonky

Oh great... Now we're going to get on screen prompts every hour telling us to take a break.