Gathers Had Low Level of Medication

A detailed toxicology test showed that Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball player who collapsed and died within two hours March 4, had trace amounts of prescribed heart medication in his system, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office reported Monday.

The test showed 26 nanograms per milliliter, which coroner spokesman Bob Dambacher said was a sub-therapeutic level. He said the standard level of Inderal, or propranolol, ranged from 50 to 290 nanograms per milliliter.

The question of whether Gathers was taking his medication could be central to potential lawsuits resulting from his death. But while the report seemed to establish that he wasn’t taking enough, he still might have been taking some. In that regard, the test results are inconclusive.

“What does this mean?” Dambacher asked of Monday’s report. “Was he taking his medication or wasn’t he? Did he reduce it himself, or did somebody reduce it? Did he have some (of the drug) in him? There’s no way of knowing.”

Inderal, which is part of the class of drugs known as beta-blockers, has many uses, including the control of an irregular heartbeat.

Gathers’ condition was diagnosed as arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, after he fainted during a game Dec. 9 against UC Santa Barbara.

Physicians initially prescribed Inderal to help control Gathers’ condition. He continued taking medication after receiving clearance to play basketball Dec. 21.

However, his dosage was reduced at least three times after that, said Bruce Fagel, a Beverly Hills attorney who said he will file a suit this week in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of the Gathers family. Fagel said medical records show the dosage was reduced from 240 milligrams to 40 milligrams, twice a day. But he said he believes it was reduced a fourth time to 20 milligrams.

The coroner’s office did not say whether the level of Inderal in Gathers’ system indicated if or when he had stopped taking the drug, which toxicologists said is difficult to determine.

Last week’s autopsy report said Gathers did not take his medicine for at least eight hours before his death. But the tissue samples were sent to an independent laboratory for more extensive analysis, Dambacher said.

“Our equipment just wasn’t sensitive enough to go down where we wanted to go,” he said.

“We know full well therapeutic levels (of Inderal) are well below that so we had to be very careful,” Dambacher said. “We wanted to get this straight.”

A chief question now is whether Gathers took his medication before playing in Loyola’s West Coast Conference tournament game against Portland March 4 at Gersten Pavilion in Westchester.

The dosage had been reduced because the drug made him lethargic and sluggish, common side effects associated with Inderal. Gathers complained that he could not play at full strength while taking high dosages of medication.

Gathers, a 6-foot-7 senior forward/center, was projected as a first-round choice in the upcoming NBA draft.

After reducing the level to 40 milligrams, physicians tested Gathers Feb. 20. A Holter monitor test during a practice showed the dose was sufficient to control the heart rhythm during extreme exercise.

The Holter monitor is an instrument that can provide continuous monitoring of the heartbeat and can be used to help determine the dose of medication necessary to keep the heart functioning normally.

Inderal should be monitored closely, physicians said. According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference, abrupt discontinuance of the drug can result in heart disorder.

Inderal tablets are recommended four times daily, but the dosage varies greatly depending on a patient’s reaction to the level.

Dr. Donald Catlin of the UCLA School of Pharmacology said the length of time the drug remains in the body differs, but it usually has a half life of four hours. That means it dissipates by 50% every four hours.

“The drug should be detectable the same day or the next day,” Catlin said. “If the drug is not there, it is far more complicated as to what that means.”