Gathers Autopsy Fails to Pinpoint Problem; Illegal Drugs Absent

Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball star, died from inflammation and scarring of the heart muscle, but what caused that condition remains unknown, according to an autopsy report released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Preliminary toxicology tests did not find the beta-blocker Inderal in Gathers’ system. However, further tests were being conducted to determine if Gathers had taken the heart medication to control irregular heartbeats, said C. Scott Carrier, a coroner’s investigator.

The results of those tests are expected next week.

Gathers, 23, collapsed during a West Coast Conference tournament game March 4 at Loyola and was pronounced dead 1 hour 40 minutes later at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital.

Bruce Fagel, a Beverly Hills attorney hired by the Gathers family, said that the most likely explanation for the scar tissue is a virus. He said scar tissue could cause an irregular heartbeat.

“The scar tissue probably came from a virus of some sort, sometime before Dec. 9,” Fagel said Thursday at a news conference. Fagel said the coroner’s office told him that it is doubtful that any date connected with a virus could be determined.

Gathers fainted Dec. 9 during Loyola’s game against UC Santa Barbara. His condition was later diagnosed as arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat.

“We know it (scar tissue) existed for a long enough period of time,” Fagel said. “It takes several weeks for the scar tissue to become evident, so we know it was there for at least several weeks. (We don’t know if) before Dec. 9 Hank had the flu or some type of virus that affected his heart, and we’ll never know. But the critical issue is that whatever happened was not an ongoing process. . . . His only problem was the arrhythmia, and we know that the source of that arrhythmia was most likely the areas of scar tissue in his heart.”

Dr. David S. Cannon, director of cardiology at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles and co-chairman of a group called Prevention of Sudden Death, agreed a virus could have caused the scarring of Gathers’ heart.

“It (the virus) is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac arrest in young people,” Cannon said. “The virus would be the second most common cause of death behind a coronary artery disease. In a diffusely abnormal heart, coronary artery disease is the biggest cause.”

The autopsy results said both of Gathers’ ventricles, or lower chambers of the heart, showed abnormal thickening. The examination also found inflammation in the heart muscle and a weak heart.

Fagel said the coroner’s report indicates no evidence of a congenital heart problem. He said that any concern about other members of Gathers’ family having a heart problem caused through genetic transfer is unnecessary.

Gathers’ 6-year-old son, Aaron Crump, was recently tested for a possible heart defect. His tests, however, were not done because of Gathers’ heart condition. They were ordered by Aaron’s doctor after the detection of an irregular heartbeat.

Aaron’s mother, Marva Crump, has been advised by her attorney, Adrian Moody, not to release the results of the tests.

Fagel said that the Gathers family is pleased that any question of Gathers taking any type of “illicit or illegal drugs, will finally be put to rest.”

The toxicology results did not indicate the presence of any illegal substances.

Fagel has been hired to represent Gathers’ mother, Lucille, brothers Charles and Derrick, and Gathers’ aunt, Carol Livingston. Fagel said last week that he intends to file a suit seeking monetary damages. But Thursday he said that he will not file until Loyola Marymount finishes its postseason and until the Gathers’ family has recovered emotionally.

Gathers was cleared to play on Dec. 21. But he had to wear a Holter monitor during some practices after he returned. A Holter monitor is an instrument that provides a continuous monitoring of the heartbeat and can be used to help determine the dose of medication necessary to keep the heart functioning normally.

Fagel said last week that medical records show the Gathers’ dosage of Inderal was reduced from 240 milligrams to 40 milligrams, taken twice a day.

Whether the reduced dosage contributed to Gathers’ death is difficult to determine, cardiologists said. Experts say the amount of drug taken, or perhaps not taken, is only one factor in the medical data that could provide insight.