Thursday, December 29, 2011

Ben Breedlove’s YouTube Video About Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Before Passing Away Christmas Day

Ben Breedlove Video
Ben Breedlove, 18 years old, passed away on Christmas day from his heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Ben had made a two part YouTube video on December 18, 2011 sharing his story about his experience with HCM on index cards.

Ben Breedlove’s YouTube video has since gone viral and has almost 1.5 million views.
Ben Breedlove’s YouTube video explains his life with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He starts off by writing, “All my life, I’ve had a heart condition.” “(HCM) short for Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.” “It’s a very serious and dangerous condition.” “As I grew older I learned more that it is dangerous.” “It has scared me a lot, and I hate that feeling.”
He then starts to talk about how he has cheated death many times, the first time was when he was four years old. He writes, “The first time I cheated death was when I was 4.” “I had a life threatening seizure. Scary right?” “My blood sugar dropped to 14.”
He says there is one thing that he won’t forget about that day even though he doesn’t recall much from it and that is, “I was being wheeled down this hall on a stretcher.” “The two nurses that were pushing it, and my mom running along side.” “There was this big bright light above me.” “I told my mom, ‘Look at the bright light!’ and pointed up.” “She said she didn’t see anything.” “I will NEVER forget that feeling or that day.”
Rapper Kid Cudi opened up to his fans via Tumblr and revealed how much Ben Breedlove’s video touched his heart. He was so touched by the video that it brought him to tears and he wrote to his fans: “I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, I am to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f***ed up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine. You have my love.”
Ben Breedlove YouTube
Reported from Ballerstatus, “The latter memory, the third time he nearly died, Breedlove shared that he passed out in school. His heart stopped and he was not breathing for three minutes while paramedics attempted to resuscitate him. During his brush with death, he had a vision of his favorite rapper, Kid Cudi.”
“The next thing that happened, I’m not sure if it was a dream, or vision, but while I was still unconscious I was in this white room,” Breedlove revealed, written on index cards in the video. “No walls, it just went on and on… There was no sound. But that same peaceful feeling I had when I was 4. I was wearing a really nice suit and so was my fav rapper, Kid Cudi. Why he was the only one there with me, I’m still trying to figure out.”
CBS News reported that he passed away on Christmas morning while playing in the backyard with his younger brother. His family did not see the video until the following day. It was his last Christmas present to them.
“I’m very proud of him for choosing to be so vulnerable and share something of himself that was so personal. It was a gift to us, and for him to be so confident and unafraid of death and to share it with other people was so touching,” Deanne Breedlove, Ben’s mother told CBS news.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a condition where the heart muscle becomes thick and makes it hard for the blood to leave the heart which forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. When there is a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy heart condition, it usually makes one part of the heart thicker than the other. It’s also passed down through families, but younger people are the ones to have the most severe condition of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy symptoms include:
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Fainting, especially during exercise

- Heart failure (in some patients)
High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Light-headedness, especially with or after activity or exercise
- Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
- Shortness of breath
- Other symptoms that may occur are:
- Fatigue, reduced activity tolerance
- Shortness of breath when lying down