Videogame Marathons to Blame in Young Man's Death

Chris Staniforth, a 20-year-old from Sheffield, England, may have died as a result of his propensity for playing videogames for very long stretches of time.

Staniforth, who died in May according to the New York Daily News, was the victim of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The Mayo Clinic website describes DVT as a condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein, oftentimes in the legs, which can then break off and make its way into the lungs, causing a fatal pulmonary embolism. This doesn't always happen, and the clots can go away on their own. They're typically caused by sitting still for long stretches of time, like during long flights or drives. In the case of Staniforth, it may have been the long stretches he played videogames for that caused him to develop DVT.

"Chris lived for his Xbox. When he got into a game he could play it for hours and hours on end, sometimes 12 hours in a stretch," said his father, David Staniforth, in an interview with The Sun. "He got sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world."

He said that Chris had a variety of systems over the years, and although it was an Xbox of some sort that he played so much prior to his death, he doesn't blame Microsoft for what happened. He does, however, want to raise attention to the issue so that others don't meet the same fate.

"I'm not for one minute blaming the manufacturer of Xbox. It isn't their fault that people use them for so long. But I want to highlight the dangers that can arise. Playing on it for so long is what killed him -- and I don't want another child to die."

Prior to his death, Chris had been accepted into the University of Leicester, where he planned to study game design.

It's a frightening story, even though DVT is apparently rare to find in someone so young, according to professor Brian Colvin. It should serve as a reminder that a bit of exercise can't hurt, and that those messages about taking a break in games like World of Warcraft are there for a reason.

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