The skating prodigy Kalani David passed away on Saturday after having a seizure while surfing off the Costa Rican coast. He was 24. The Hawaiian surfer’s passing was initially reported by the surfing news website The Inertia. The skateboarding champion has Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a heart condition, according to the website.
His heart may beat swiftly from time to time due to tachycardia brought on by Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The condition is estimated to be non-lethal to the majority of people and affects between 0.1% and 0.3% of the global population. According to John Hopkins:
The most significant risk is sudden death from a heart attack, which tachycardia may precipitate. This occurs in less than half of all cases, making it extremely uncommon.
Kalani David experienced Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome-related seizures in 2016.
In August 2016, Kalani David experienced his first seizure as a result of the condition while ice skating in California. Kalani wrote in an Instagram post about the occasion:
My heart stopped when I woke up in the ambulance after having a seizure and falling on my face. I had three seizures by the time I got to the hospital. I’m grateful to still be alive.
Over Christmas later that year, he experienced another seizure. The late Hawaiian celebrity went into a two-day coma after a seizure that lasted more than six hours. The surfer was at his residence on Oahu when the incident took place. Later, he said the following in an interview with a surfing publication:
They don’t know for sure, but they speculate that my Wolf Parkinson-White Syndrome, which messes with the energy in my heart, is to blame. I need surgery to remove the excess muscle that forms in my heart because it causes my heart rate to increase significantly too quickly.
He underwent surgery in 2017 to remove extra cardiac muscle that was the root of his seizures.
An “extra signaling channel between the upper and lower chambers of the heart that creates a fast pulse” is the hallmark of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW). The condition is a rare heart condition that first appears at birth.
Although WPW syndrome usually does not result in death, it can cause several other cardiac problems. A sudden cardiac arrest brought on by the illness may kill kids and teenagers.
The ailment is treated using a range of methods, including medications, cardioversion, and arrhythmia.
After Kalani David passed away, his friends remembered him.
Friends expressed their sorrow and gratitude for Kalani David after hearing of his passing on social media. Surfer Kelly wrote in an Instagram story:
“Kalani was one of the world’s best skaters and surfers, constantly pushing the limits anytime he was on his feet… We send our condolences to Kalani’s wide range of friends worldwide and from coast to coast.
When Kalani David was just 6 years old, photographer Patrick Eichstaedt tweeted a photo of the two of them together with a caption explaining how they first met. He offered the skater’s family his condolences and assistance. To ensure that Kalani is properly buried in Florida, America, his family is attempting to have his remains removed from Costa Rica.
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