On the 27th of November, a lot of people were shocked to hear that 35-year-old heartthrob, Godfrey Gao had passed away.
It is said that Godfrey suffered a cardiac arrest when filming for Chinese reality TV show Chasing Me. Reportedly, he fell and lost consciousness on set and passed away when he was sent to a nearby hospital.
The official cause of death is a sudden cardiac arrest and experts have said that it was probably caused by overworking and lack of sleep.
This case definitely shocked a lot of people as Godfrey was a very fit man and had a very good figure. However, according to Dr Kelvin Wong, a cardiologist from the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, good muscle tone and slimness doesn’t guarantee good health.
Another doctor, Dr. Kenneth Ng agreed too:
“Looks can be deceiving. You cannot really tell whether a person is healthy or fit by appearance.”
Instead of judging by the appearance, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels are more accurate health determiners rather than how chubby the person is, reported CNA.
Dr. Lin, another cardiologist, also says that young people who appear slim and toned can also have cardiac risk factors that are not obvious to untrained eyes. Cardiac arrests are different from heart attacks in the sense that cardiac arrest is triggered by an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes it to beat irregularly. A heart attack refers to a sudden blood clot occurring in one of the major arteries, resulting in heart muscle death.
Chances of getting cardiac arrest will increase when one has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, if they smoke or it can just be in the genetics. But even without having or doing anything aforementioned, there are still chances of young people getting cardiac arrests such as a genetic condition that thickens the heart muscle.
While there are no reports that said that Godfrey had any cardiovascular problems before filming, he had worked 17 hours straight without any rest.
Dr. Wong says that when a person is going through a stressful situation, the risk of abnormal heart rhythms increases. Depression and mood disorders can also increase the risk of heart attacks.
It is said that Godfrey at that time was suffering from the flu while filming the physically draining variety show. Catching the flu is not that big of a deal but the virus can cause the inflammation of the heart.
This certainly opens up an avenue of information and this shows that we should take illnesses seriously even when it is a flu!
Also read: BREAKING: Heartthrob Godfrey Gao Has Passed Away At 35yo