Swimmer's parents appreciate support

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

UH swim coach Mike Anderson, left, and athletic director Herman Frazier discuss Mike Sheldt's untimely death. Advertiser library photo • March 5, 2003

Sheldt, of Charlotte, N.C., had an undetected heart problem that likely caused him to lose consciousness and drown at the start of practice on Tuesday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex pool, according to the medical examiner.

It was the first death of a UH athlete in practice or in competition in at least 30 years, school officials said.

Yesterday, Sheldt's parents, Mike and Shawnee, hugged each other as the Hawai'i swim team honored their son at a qualifying meet with a moment of silence, a convocation by the Rev. Sherman Thompson, a Hawaiian chant and the release of colored doves that represented Sheldt's free spirit.

The swim team also left a swimming lane vacant during the events Sheldt would have competed in.

"We have been amazed by the outpouring of the aloha spirit," said Shawnee Sheldt. "I'm not just talking about the swim team, or just from the university community. This hospitality and the warmth has meant so much and has been so helpful. It just makes us smile."

Dozens of well-wishers have posted messages on a website organized by Sheldt's former swim club, the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (N.C.). The majority of the messages — some from lovestruck girls — talked about Sheldt's good looks, his athletic talents and his character.

"He was always happy with a smile on his face," said Hawai'i sophomore teammate Nick Cabebe. "Whenever somebody was down, he would just crack a joke and make everybody smile. He always led the team in cheers."

Hawai'i swim coach Mike Anderson called Sheldt an intense competitor, a friend and a true waterman who swam and surfed. In his tribute to Sheldt, Anderson urged the more than 100 people at the pool to honor Sheldt and "swim hard, compete well, and to yourself be true." He ended his speech with, "Let's roll."

Sheldt drowned after he fainted from an undetected heart problem, said Dr. William Goodhue, the first deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Sheldt.

University of Hawai'i Athletic Director Herman Frazier said he was told Sheldt was underwater for "15 seconds or so" before being pulled from the pool.

Gone too early in life

Goodhue said Sheldt suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a primary disease of the heart muscle, and one of the most common causes of sudden unexplained death in young athletes during or after physical exertion.

Goodhue said people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are susceptible to cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, which can cause brief loss of consciousness. He said Sheldt likely sustained an irregular heartbeat while in the water, lost consciousness, and drowned.

"If he had this fainting episode outside of the water, it is possible that the irregularity might have been severe enough that he would have died nonetheless," Goodhue said. "On the other hand, if the irregularity only resulted in transient fainting it is possible he may not have died because he would have been breathing air."

Goodhue, who classified Sheldt's death as accidental, said sudden death may be the first sign of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Goodhue said the final autopsy report is pending additional laboratory and tissue studies and should be completed within several weeks.

Dr. Robert Hong, a cardiologist at The Queen's Medical Center, said anyone who is going into competitive athletics, who has a history of passing out, chest pain and progressive shortness of breath, should be seen by a doctor.

Preventing similar cases

He said usually the evaluation would include doing a electrocardiogram, or an electrical monitor, and may include a soundwave study of the heart, called an echocardiogram, to figure out where the heart has thickened.

When asked if additional medical screening should be done for athletes, Hong said there are differing opinions that take into consideration costs and other concerns.

Sheldt passed his physical examination and pre-participation physical before the season, he did not exhibit any signs of a heart problem, and appeared to be in top shape, UH officials said.

"There's four million high school athletes and 500,000 college athletes," Hong said. "If you do an echo study on all of them that could potentially be a problem; in terms of cost factors, somebody would have to end up paying for it."

Another problem is, according to Hong, if you subject everyone through overkill screening measures, "you may land up doing invasive procedures or potentially dangerous things for people who don't have any underlying heart conditions."

Hong said new technology is being investigated with handheld echo cardio devices capable of performing mass screenings on athletes, but that's far from being a standard.

"Even among the experts with the most experience in sports medicine, there's disagreement on how much routine screening should be done on athletes," Hong said.

Frazier said the school does not plan on changing the current physical examination policy that adheres to national standards.

"As far as we're concerned, our physicals are done similar to every other institution like ours throughout the country, and we will continue to do that," Frazier said. "It is very, very sad for us to have to go through this. But I think in light of everything we've seen, in any kind of physical, (Sheldt's condition) would not have been detected unless you knew there was a history of heart problems."

Satisfied with current policy

Some of the Hawai'i athletes and former athletes yesterday said they were satisfied with the current physical examinations and trusted the UH medical staff to detect problems.

"I would think (the examinations) are adequate," former University of Hawai'i football player Vince Manuwai said. "It's going to come down to the players to tell the doctors (their ailments)."

Added Cabebe: "They're pretty much doing a good job. They check every little thing. They check your pulse, your heart rate, everything. It's pretty much an all-day physical."

Rainbow basketball player Michael Kuebler said he hoped the physical examinations would detect problems, but he said he couldn't know for certain.

"I don't really know what to say about the tests, because the same situation has happened in professional sports," Kuebler said. "It happened to (Reggie Lewis) from the Celtics. And I'm sure they do testing three times as much.

"I really don't know what's adequate to be honest with you," Kuebler added. "I really don't know what is a thorough examination. You just do what (physicians) tell you to do."