Lewis’ Life Ends; Questions Begin : Basketball: Among them: How could it happen so soon after the death of Hank Gathers?

As Boston grieved the sudden death of basketball star Reggie Lewis, painful questions arose Wednesday from the latest athletic tragedy.

Lewis, a 6-foot-7 forward with the Boston Celtics, collapsed while shooting baskets Tuesday at Brandeis University and died hours later at Waltham-Weston Hospital in Waltham, Mass.

With his death, the handling of Lewis’ case has caused a furor. With heightened awareness of heart disease since the death of Loyola Marymount player Hank Gathers three years ago, many wonder how it could happen again. How could another basketball player under medical treatment fall on the court and die?

Some wonder why Lewis did not pursue another medical opinion when conflicting diagnoses emerged a week after he collapsed during an NBA playoff game April 29 against the Charlotte Hornets.

And the medical community, still reeling from Gathers’ death in March of 1990, braced for a potential lawsuit.

The ramifications of Lewis’ death could be profound because of a controversial debate over his medical condition in May. Physicians said Wednesday it is not uncommon for disagreements, but typically the debate is conducted in private.

Instead Lewis’ case unfolded before the public.

After the April 29 incident, a group of 12 experts at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston determined Lewis suffered from focal cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease that can trigger lethal heart rhythms. Celtic physicians announced that Lewis’ career was probably over.

Lewis, the Celtics’ leading scorer, decided to seek another opinion and left New England Baptist late one night to be admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital across town.

After being administered another battery of tests, Lewis was said to suffer from neurocardiogenic syncope, a benign disorder that causes fainting spells.

“Anyone of the group that (originally) saw him would have done anything they could to persuade him not to play, but it was out of their control,” a physician familiar with the case told The Times.

“I think most doctors will fight as hard as they can when they think they’re right. But this became such a political football, it was simply taken out of their hands. They’re devastated, because what they thought was going to happen, happened.”

An autopsy conducted Wednesday did not determine cause of death and further study is needed, state medical examiners said. A Celtic spokesman said funeral arrangements are expected to be announced today.

One of the original cardiologists said Lewis should have received an implantable defibrillator--a device that shocks the heart back to normal when it beats dangerously fast--and stopped playing basketball.

“He should have followed the findings that the 12 of us recommended,” the cardiologist told the Associated Press on condition he not be identified.

Jim Calhoun, the Connecticut coach who coached Lewis at Northeastern University, said he sensed Lewis had doubts about his health. Calhoun last saw Lewis at the Celtics’ rookie/free-agent camp this month. He said Lewis appeared healthy after working out for about 3 1/2 weeks, but something did not seem quite right.

“I think maybe what I was feeling was his lack of confidence, that maybe that for the first time, maybe there was something--not to say wrong--but maybe basketball was going to be a little more difficult,” Calhoun said.

It was unclear whether Lewis was taking medication for the nerve disorder, a diagnosis determined by Gilbert Mudge, director of Clinical Cardiology at Brigham and Women’s. Mudge refused comment Wednesday.

Mudge based his results, in part, on a tilt test, in which Lewis was strapped to a table that was suddenly raised. Lewis said he felt lightheaded during the test, much as he had during the April 29 game, and that helped Mudge to conclude Lewis did not have a cardiac abnormality.

Paul Thompson, a physician with the Preventive Cardiology unit at the University of Pittsburgh, said the tilt test often is unreliable when administered to athletes because of their conditioning.

Thompson, one of the country’s leading sports cardiologists, said Lewis’ death could ignite a change in medical treatment of athletes.

“The potential tragedy from this (is) doctors will become more conservative, so we won’t let anybody play athletics, and patients and their families will become more frightened,” Thompson said.

Legal experts said Wednesday that, while the potential for a malpractice suit exists, the physicians and Celtics are not necessarily liable.

They said it depends on whether the diagnosis and treatment were what reasonably prudent doctors, certified in the same specialty as the treating physician, would have done under the same set of circumstances.

Sports Deaths in 1993

Notable sports figures who have died in 1993:

Date Person Age Sport/Occupation Jan. 3 Johnny Most 69 Broadcaster Jan. 15 Henry Iba 88 College basketball coach Jan. 19 Chris Street 20 College basketball player Jan. 22 Charlie Gehringer 89 Baseball player Feb. 6 Arthur Ashe 49 Tennis player March 22 Steve Olin 27 Baseball player March 23 Tim Crews 31 Baseball player April 1 Alan Kulwicki 38 Stock car driver April 21 Hal Schumacher 82 Baseball player April 22 Mark Koenig 88 Baseball player April 28 Jim Valvano 47 College basketball coach, broadcaster April 30 Dave Waymer 34 Football player June 2 Johnny Mize 80 Baseball player June 7 Drazen Petrovic 28 Basketball player June 26 Roy Campanella 71 Baseball player July 2 Don Drysdale 56 Baseball player, broadcaster July 13 Davey Allison 32 Stock car driver July 27 Reggie Lewis 27 Basketball player