Heart attacks, if you mean infarctions, will still be quite rare in 50s, especially in someone who is able to play pickleball. I would also imagine his doctor would be unlikely to have missed signs of coronary artery disease.
I would guess it is more likely that he simply passed out for one reason or another since it was the middle of the night, he had played sports, potentially sleepy dehydrated and maybe even under the influence.
He could develop toxic cardiomyopathy, but it is not that acute, and while it can in late stages cause dangerous arrhythmias, which some would conflate under “heart attacks”, a cardiomyopathy that advanced would also mean he is out of breath climbing up a flight of stairs, so probably no pickleball.
Soaking in a bathtub or basking in a sauna can be a pleasant way to relax. Done on a regular basis, both habits may also help prevent heart attacks and strokes, according to several studies.
"The high temperatures in a warm tub or sauna cause your blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure," says Dr. Adolph Hutter, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The volume of blood your heart pumps will also rise, especially in a hot tub. That's a result of the pressure of the water on the body, which increases the heart's workload, he explains.
So actually comprehending this, if that is what I'm doing, the heat is causing your body to do what it does when your blood pressure is spiking, but since you are in a body of water, the weight of the water is changing the atmospheric pressure on the the body, and nets to lower blood pressure.
Heat is making the heart pump harder, and the blood move faster, but the atmospheric pressure is dilating the blood cells, resulting in net lower PB.
Kinda sounds like "wreaking havoc on the circulatory system". Same as rigorous exercise weeks havoc on the circulatory system.
Overdo stress on the circulatory system, get heart attack or stroke.
Pressure would play little role here, generally it would increas peripheral resistance as well as pressure inside the chest cavity, prompting the heart to work harder. However I doubt at a regular water immersion in a hot tub causes a noticeable effect.
Then heat causes your blood vessels to dilate in an attempt to dump the heat outside, because you are in a hottub this will end up warming your core, which will also dilate more blood vessels inside as well as raising your resting heart rate.
The net effect is slightly faster heart rate (still usually under 100, so not even in light excercise teritory yet, more like walking teritory) with a lower blood pressure.
None of this is close to wrecking havoc, yet the initial drop from getting in quickly can be fast enough, that with a high enough vagal tone (i.e perfect storm of other situations - tired, dehydrated, intoxicated, chronically tired or w/e) you could temporarily pass out. Analogous to someone passing out from getting up too quickly.
Indeed, hot baths are so harmful to your health, which is one of the reasons why the Japanese have one of the shortest lifespans on the planet - it's because of those daily hot baths and onsen that they partake in.
Ya, if you run 5 miles a day every day, you're gonna be in great shape.
If you snort mountains of coke and eat cake without any exercise for 20 years and then force yourself to run for 5 miles, you're going to blow your heart out.
Recent studies say for most people, a half hour in the hot tub is the equivelent of a half hour run. It is intense on the circulatory system.
If you are saying Mathew Perry had the diet and physical activity level, and hence the circulatory system of a 54 year old Japanese man, then youvare a dipshit.
If I recall my terms right it’s vasogenic shock. Essentially pipes without enough fluid and thus not enough pressure make the pump go wonky… so, yea, havoc wreaked. I’d say you’re accurate there.
Vasogenic shock is caused generally by severe disregulation in the body - anaphylaxis, sepsis, lactic acidosis.
What could have occured is a vasovagal syncope, where a sudden transient drop in blood pressure causes someone to lose consciousness temporarily. In this case, being tired, sleepy and getting quickly into a hottub, or sitting in it for a bit and then getting up suddenly could do the trick.
They are saying no drugs or alcohol involved, so I'm guessing a few hours of strenuous exercise followed by jacuzzi = a heart attack while in the jacuzzi alone leading to drowning as the immediate cause of death, but triggered by the heart attack.