Bronny James's cardiac arrest likely caused by heart defect: family

LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James's teenage son Bronny's cardiac arrest last month was likely caused by a congenital heart defect, the family said in a statement on Friday.

Bronny James, 18, collapsed on court while training with his University of Southern California basketball teammates Los Angeles.

He was rushed to hospital but was discharged a few days later.

"After a comprehensive initial evaluation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center... the probable cause of Mr. James' sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has been identified.

"It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated," said the statement.

"We are very confident in Bronny’s full recovery and return to basketball in the very near future. We will continue to provide updates to media and respectfully reiterate the family’s request for privacy," the statement concluded.

Bronny James committed to playing for the USC Trojans in May after becoming one of the top prospects in US high school basketball.

He crowned an outstanding senior year campaign at the exclusive Sierra Canyon school in Los Angeles with 15 points in an all-star game of top college candidates, sinking five 3-pointers.

His famous father -- the NBA's all-time leading scorer as well as a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player -- has long spoken of his desire to extend his career in order to play in the league with his son.

The statement comes days after LeBron and Bronny James accompanied rapper Drake to the stage during a concert at the Crypto.com Arena -- the same venue where the Lakers play -- then watched the show from VIP seats.

Agence France-Presse

Rocker Tom Petty dead at 66: family

NEW YORK -- Tom Petty, the heartland rocker whose classic melodies but dark storytelling created a string of hits over four decades, died Monday of cardiac arrest, his family said. He was 66.

His family confirmed that Petty passed away Monday evening surrounded by loved ones after a confusing day in which several media outlets reported and then retracted premature news of his death.

"On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty," a family statement said.

Petty suffered cardiac arrest early Monday at his home in Malibu, just a week after he closed his career in a triumphant fashion. The rocker had played three sold-out shows at the iconic Hollywood Bowl to wrap up a tour celebrating 40 years of his band the Heartbreakers.

He closed the encore with one of his earliest and best-known songs -- "American Girl," which tells of an ambitious girl "raised on promises" now contemplating suicide, set to guitar harmonies from the golden age of rock 'n' roll.

The song was one of many by Petty about struggling to overcome long odds. "I Won't Back Down," perhaps his best-known song, took on a second life as a US patriotic anthem after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The singer and guitarist -- recognizable for his shoulder-length blonde hair -- delivered his vocals in short punches that let on an underlying anger, such as on "You Don't Know How It Feels."

The rocker's characters -- small-town Americans full of aspirations but running into a wall of setbacks -- reflected the hardscrabble early life of Petty.

His grandfather was a logger from Georgia rumored to have fled south to Florida after axing a man to death in an argument. Petty was born in Gainesville, the university town in northern Florida, to a belligerently drunk father who sold wholesale tobacco and candy.

Petty once recalled that his father, intoxicated and unimpressed by his son's passion for music, once smashed up the boy's record collection.

The future rocker said he told him, "Dad, if you'll just leave me alone, I'll be a millionaire by the time I'm 35." It was a prediction that proved prophetic.

Rock as early escape

Petty, speaking in 2015 to Men's Journal, credited his mother Kitty with saving him by making sure "to show us there was more to life than rednecks."

"She read to me a lot. And she liked music: She had a record player and would play Nat King Cole and the 'West Side Story' soundtrack. I think of her every time I hear those songs," he said.

But he remained consumed by inner rage. "Any authority I didn't agree with could just make me go crazy," he said of his early life haunted by his father.

He struggled with depression most of his life and formed an addiction to heroin, although later in his life his only vice was marijuana and he instead embraced transcendental meditation to calm himself.

Petty embraced the country influences of the South, especially when he crafted the 1985 concept album "Southern Accents."

Touring the United States, he flew a Confederate flag on stage -- a decision he later regretted, telling Rolling Stone that "people just need to think about how it looks to a black person" as he likened the controversial symbol to a Nazi swastika.

In a speech in February as he was presented a lifetime award at the Grammys, Petty said he owed a debt to African Americans such as Chuck Berry whom he credited as the creators of rock 'n' roll.

But like so many music fans of his generation, he discovered rock 'n' roll via Britain when he saw The Beatles perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964.

"I had my eyes opened like so many others and I joined the conspiracy to put black music on the popular white radio," Petty said.

Campaigner for artists

Petty in the late 1980s joined one of The Beatles, George Harrison, in a supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys, that also featured Bob Dylan. The project was short-lived after the death of another member, Roy Orbison.

Fresh from the glory of the Wilburys, Petty -- long backed by the Heartbreakers -- in 1989 released his first solo album, "Full Moon Fever," which featured the wistful "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down a Dream" as well as "I Won't Back Down."

Other major hits by Petty included "Don't Come Around Here No More," written with David A. Stewart of New Wave duo The Eurythmics. The track's playful video, themed around "Alice in Wonderland," cemented Petty's reputation as a favorite among stoners.

The three-time Grammy winner was steadfast on artistic control and had a reputation for battling with the music industry -- most memorably with the 1981 album "Hard Promises" after he was angered by his label's plan to put the store price higher than usual.

More recently, English singer Sam Smith agreed to credit Petty as a songwriter on his worldwide hit ballad "Stay With Me" due to the similarities -- coincidental, by all accounts -- in the chorus to worldwide hit "I Won't Back Down."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher has mid-air heart attack

Hollywood star Carrie Fisher was fighting for her life Friday after suffering a massive heart attack on a flight, emergency workers and witnesses said.

The 60-year-old "Star Wars" actress was flying from London to Los Angeles when she suffered cardiac arrest, and was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by an emergency responder on board.

Fisher collapsed 15 minutes before the plane landed at LAX, according to celebrity news website TMZ, and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center on a ventilator.

TMZ, citing witnesses, said the actress's eyes were closed and she appeared unconscious as she was rushed through the terminal, where paramedics worked for 15 minutes before they could get a pulse.

The Los Angeles Times said her condition was critical, quoting an unnamed source who said the actress was "in a lot of distress on the flight."

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) did not refer to the actress by name but confirmed it had responded to an alert just after midday over "a patient on an inbound flight in cardiac arrest."

"LAFD firefighter paramedics were standing by and provided immediate advanced life support and aggressively treated and transported the patient to a local hospital," spokesman Erik Scott told AFP.

United Airlines said medical personnel met Flight 935 from London upon arrival after the crew reported that a passenger was unresponsive.

Fisher was catapulted to worldwide stardom as the rebel warrior Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, which has been a cultural phenomenon since the release of the films from 1977 to 1983.

Steeped in Hollywood excess from an early age, she was the product of the four-year marriage of movie star Debbie Reynolds, best-known for her role in "Singin' In The Rain," and singer Eddie Fisher.

The relationship, and the happy home in Beverly Hills, came to an end when Fisher left Reynolds for her close friend, the actress Elizabeth Taylor.

- Searingly honest -

Fisher's co-stars led tributes as Hollywood reacted with shock to news of her collapse.

"As if 2016 couldn't get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher" tweeted Mark Hamill, who plays her on-screen twin Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" saga.

The American actress has talked and written frequently about her years of drug addiction and mental illness.

Fisher is known for her searingly honest semi-autobiographical novels, including her best-selling debut "Postcards from the Edge" which she turned into a film of the same name in 1990.

She has given various interviews over the years about her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and addiction to prescription drugs and cocaine, which she admitted using on the set of "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980).

She has also discussed being treated with electroconvulsive therapy, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, to trigger brief seizures.

Writer and actress Anna Akana, who said she was on board Fisher's flight, described the mid-air drama in a series of tweets, voicing her "shock and sadness."

"Don't know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she's gonna be OK," she said.

"So many thanks to the United flight crew who jumped into action, and the awesome doctor and nurse passengers who helped. Feel weird even tweeting about it but I JUST finished her book and was fangirling out over seeing her dog Gary in person."

Fisher's famous "Star Wars" character features as part of the storyline to spin-off "Rogue One," which is currently riding high in box offices around the globe, although the actress is understood not to have been involved in the production.

"The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universe's most powerful Force," tweeted English actress Gwendoline Christie, who played the warrior Brienne of Tarth in HBO's "Game of Thrones" and Captain Phasma in Fisher's most recent "Star Wars" episode, "The Force Awakens."

ft/acb

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cardiac arrest or heart attack: Know the difference

MANILA - Many get confused with cardiac arrest and heart attack, with most thinking that the two are just the same condition.

In an interview on DZMM's "Magandang Gabi Dok," Dr. John David Tan, a cardiologist, explained that cardiac arrest is often an effect of a heart attack.

"By the name itself (cardiac arrest), hindi na po tumitibok ang puso. Either the heart does not pump anymore, because of that, hindi na po efficient ang daloy ng dugo sa utak. That's why yung pinaka-common manifestation of sudden cardiac death is loss of consciousness, nawawalan ng malay po ang tao," he said.

"The most common cause of sudden cardiac death is heart attack. I think that was the case nung nangyari kay Direk Wenn (Deramas), sudden cardiac death due to massive heart attack," Tan added.

Heart attack is often caused by a blockage in the veins, making it difficult for blood to circulate the body.

For Tan, it is important for a heart attack patient to undergo cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as soon as possible.

"Kapag hindi na-CPR within a minute, there is a higher chance of dying every minute," he added.

Upon diagnosis of the cause of the heart attack, a person may undergo emergency angioplasty to remove the blockage.

"Binubuka po 'yung 100 percent blockage na nag-cause ng heart attack," Tan said.

Aside from giving of first aid, patients should also be aware of symptoms of heart attack, which includes chest pains, difficulty in breathing, and breaking into a cold sweat.

Deramas passed away Monday of cardiac arrest due to a heart attack.

Deramas was in a hospital to see his sister who also earlier succumbed to a heart attack.


source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Anthony Taylor, director of Alma Moreno’s ‘Dyesebel’, dies of cardiac arrest

Director Anthony Taylor died of cardiac arrest at 2pm on Wednesday at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa, talent manager and Regal Films supervising producer Manny Valera reported in a Facebook post.

Valera said Taylor initially suffered a heart attack at the Ayala Alabang home of singer and talent manager Claire de la Fuente before he was rushed to the hospital. Taylor was 71 years old.

Taylor directed the 1978 “Dyesebel” movie that starred Alma Moreno. According to IMDb.com, he also directed five sexy movies, namely “Bedtime Story”, “Harot”, “Climax”, “Unang Gabi”, and “Hayok”.

He also had acting credits in several films, including “Pido Dida: Sabay Tayo”, “Dahas”, “Sibak: Midnight Dancers”, and “Walang Kawala”.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinoy IT activist Manny Amador found dead

Passionate Linux advocate and local IT pioneer Manny Amador was found dead by authorities on Friday in his rented house in Cebu where he had relocated to work for open-source firm InfoWeapons.

He turned 49 last July 7.

Amador, brother of theatre actress Pinky Amador, apparently died in his sleep due to cardiac arrest that may have been triggered by diabetic complications. Sketchy reports indicated he may have been dead for three days before being discovered by local police.

While in Cebu, Amador also worked as correspondent for an IT publication. He also maintained at least three blogs which served as his outlets for his many persuasions.

Aside from being a hardcore techie, Amador was also an ardent anti-RH Bill advocate, a dedicated motorcycle enthusiast, and former lead guitarist of the pioneering Pinoy hard-rock band The Breed.

But the work that really defined Amador was his involvement in consumer activism in the early days of the Internet in the Philippines. He was a leading light in local IT scene when open-source was also just gaining a foothold in the country.

As president of the Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTi), Amador was deeply involved in opposing telephone metering being proposed then.

He also led the PLDTi in suing PLDT for P100 million after the telco giant included his group in a case against Gerry Kaimo who held the domain PLDT.com then.

In an interview with Wired Philippines, he had this to say about the issue: “PLDT clearly made a mistake when it included PLDTi in the lawsuit since the League does not own or maintain the PLDT.COM website. That’s why we’re suing them for P100 million. That should show them that they cannot just drag innocent people to court without facing the consequences. The League will not be intimidated by this malicious and clumsy attempt to silence it. We will continue to speak out against PLDT’s unfair and backward metering scheme and any other anti-consumer practices."

As a fervent open-source supporter, Amador said in the same interview said that an effective answer to software piracy would be the promotion of open-source software.

“Instead of fighting piracy, why not avoid it altogether? Linux, for example, is the world’s fastest growing operating system and it’s practically free! Can you imagine how much piracy could be diminished if government offices and business switched to Linux? The improvement would be tremendous," he said.

Born and raised in Manila, Amador graduated from Ateneo de Manila with a degree in AB Communication Arts and AB Philosophy. He, however, called Cebu his home in the last days of his life. Part of the reason he relocated to the province was to marry a local girl – but the wedding didn’t push through. Nonetheless, he stayed put and learned to love the island life. — Newsbytes.ph

Source- gmanews.tv