Sorry to be bearer of sad news

[Tom Roche]

 people.co.uk - JOHN PEEL KILLED BY ALTITUDE
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   JOHN PEEL KILLED BY ALTITUDE

   Oct 31 2004

   Doc's fight to save DJ

   By David Brown

   VETERAN DJ John Peel's dream of holidaying in an ancient Inca city may
   have cost him his life, The People can reveal.

   The doctor who frantically fought to save him said yesterday that the
   lack of oxygen 11,000ft above sea level almost certainly triggered off
   his massive heart attack.

   Dr Alcides Vargas in Cuzco, Peru, admitted: "It may not be going too
   far to say Mr Peel would still be alive today if he hadn't come here.

   "Altitude may very well have been a contributory factor in his death.
   A lot of people who come here for the first time suffer from altitude
   sickness."

   Dr Vargas told how he rushed to the 65-year-old BBC DJ's side after he
   collapsed in the lobby of the five-star Monasterio Hotel.

   He said: "Mr Peel was lying on the floor in the lobby and his wife
   Sheila was crying uncontrollably on a sofa nearby.

   "Two women friends were trying to restrain her and comfort her both at
   the same time. The scene was complete hysteria.

   "We had medical equipment like defibrillators to administer an
   electric shock and a ventilating bag. But it was no good.

   "There were no vital signs and his wife was told there was little hope
   of reviving him. Though we got him in an ambulance and gave him
   electric shock treatment as a last option when we got to hospital, we
   couldn't bring him back.

   "I spoke a little to Mrs Peel to give her my commiserations, but I
   could see she was devastated. There was a great deal of pain."

   Dad-of-four John and Sheila, 55, had been on a three-week working
   holiday to Peru. She and other family members are still trying to cut
   through red tape so his body can be flown home.

   A Radio One insider said: "There is a lot of talk about how the
   altitude may have affected John.

   "It is a sad irony if he was actually killed by the holiday he had
   dreamed about going on for years."

   John could have been particularly vulnerable to altitude sickness
   after being diagnosed with diabetes three years ago.

   Dr Vargas said: "People's reaction to altitude is an individual thing.
   Some are fine, others suffer. In this case there'll have been a risk
   factor like thrombosis or cholesterol plaque."

   Last night Prof Mark Hanson, of the British Heart Foundation, warned
   about the dangers of high-altitude destinations.

   He said: "Reduced oxygen can flag up undiagnosed heart or other
   problems."




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