A 14-year-old boy whose family said he ate potato chips made with two of the world's hottest peppers died of cardiopulmonary arrest, according to a medical examiner's report released Thursday. enlarged heart.
According to the report, Harris Wolover, a teenager from Worcester, Massachusetts, suffered from “cardiomegaly and myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending artery and suffered from cardiopulmonary symptoms due to recent consumption of foods containing high levels of capsaicin.” It was revealed that he died on September 1st due to “stoppage”. Coronary artery. “
Capsaicin is a compound found in chili peppers that causes a burning sensation. Cardiomegaly is commonly known as enlargement of the heart. Additionally, myocardial bridging refers to coronary arteries passing through the myocardial band rather than on top of it.
The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the cause of death “could not be determined.” Other causes of death include “natural causes'', “accidental deaths'', and “murder deaths''.
Harris' mother, Lois Wolover, declined to comment on the report Thursday. She previously said she believes the single Paki brand tortilla chips her son ate in the hours before his death put his health at risk.
The chips are sprinkled with two super-spicy chili peppers, Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper, and have a label on the box that says “One Chip Challenge” and a warning: “Contents: 1 super-spicy chip.” It was written. It came in a coffin-shaped box with the image of a skull wrapped around a snake.
Marketing materials for the chips dared customers to wait as long as possible after eating the chips before eating or drinking anything, then posting their reactions on social media.
In an interview in September, Wolover said she received a call from her son's school telling her that her son was sick and that she should come pick him up. When she arrived, Harris was holding her stomach in the nurse's office, she said.
Wolova said she took her son home, but he lost consciousness about two hours later and was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Dr. Juliana Gomez Arostegui, a pediatric cardiologist at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, California, said many factors may have contributed to Harris' death.
She said myocardial bridges do not usually cause problems, except in some rare cases. She also said it's difficult to know whether Harris' heart was enlarged from the attempts to resuscitate him or whether it was something he had all along that no one knew about.
But if you combine eating spicy chips with the enlargement of the heart and the formation of myocardial bridges, “theoretically, his heart rate could be sped up enough by the intense spice and its stress to cause ischemia (oxygen deprivation).” “It can be a bad combination if it causes a potentially fatal tachyarrhythmia, a very fast abnormal heart rhythm,” Dr. Gomez-Arostegui wrote in an email.
Paqui chips are manufactured by Amplify Snack Brands, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company.
About a week after Harris' death, the company announced it was removing the chips from stores “out of an abundance of caution” and offering refunds for the product, which cost about $9.99 per dose.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Harris Wolover and extend our condolences to his family and friends,” Paki said in a statement Thursday. “Paki's One Chip Challenge was intended for adults only and had clear and conspicuous labeling emphasizing that the product was not intended for children or those with sensitivities to spicy foods or underlying health conditions.”
The company announced that it was working with retailers to remove the product from shelves after “increasing reports of teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings,” and that the “One Chip Challenge has been discontinued.” ”.