Dr. Rand McClain talks with Mike O’Hearn about the tragic passing of Jo Lindner and the problem with many claiming steroids contributed to his passing
Tragic news hit the bodybuilding world this past week with the passing of Jo Lindner at only 30 years old. After the news was initially reported, the cause of death was quickly revealed. Lindner passed due to an aneurysm. While not impossible, aneurysms are much less common in someone at 30. This led many to believe that anabolic steroids were a contributing factor to his passing. It must be stated up front that these accusations are purely assumptions – and likely incorrect at that. In Generation Iron and Barbend’s latest episode of The Mike O’Hearn Show, Dr. Rand McClain explains why anabolic steroids likely played no roll in Jo Lindner’s death.
Disclaimer: Generation Iron team are not medical professionals and are not advising for or against the use of any performance enhancing drugs, rather stating the facts surrounding these substances.
Sadly, whenever a bodybuilder passes away, a large sect of internet discourse will assume that anabolic steroids were to blame. While steroids can have very dangerous long term effects to a person’s health – most autopsies cannot draw a direct connection to steroids for most of these bodybuilding deaths.
In the case of Jo Lindner, it has been revealed that an aneurysm was the cause of death. Though this in and of itself is vague. There are two main kinds of aneurysms – brain and aortic. Often times death is caused when an aneursym, a bulge in the wall a blood vessel, bursts and sends a blood clot to the heart or brain.
In either case, this is very different than other forms of heart disease or a heart attack. Despite this, many have claimed that steroids likely contributed or even caused Jo Lindner’s untimely death.
Dr. Rand McClain earned his medical degree at Western University and completed his internship at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine Residency Program and has worked with some of the best and original innovators in Sports, Rejuvenative, Regenerative, Cosmetic and Family Medicine.
That’s why Mike O’Hearn invited Dr. Rand McClain onto the podcast to share his expertise (based on the current available information) and clear the air about the assumptions and rumors circulating about Jo Lindner and his passing. Let’s jump into it.
Steroids likely played little to no role in Jo Lindner’s death
Unfortunately, the reputation of bodybuilding often leads many to believe most bodybuilders use anabolic steroids. While it is true that many pros will use PEDs to improve performance and growth – there are also many, while likely minority, athletes who do not use such drugs.
But whether or not Jo Lindner used anabolic steroids doesn’t really matter. Why? Because it likely played a very little or no role in Jo Lindner’s death. If we are to believe that he died due to a burst aneurysm, steroids would have little impact on this medical development.
Dr. Rand McClain does admit that steroids can contribute to heart disease and premature death. But when this happens, it’s usually due to the enlarging of the heart and stiffening of blood vessels.
Could anabolic steroids contribute to worsening the aneurysm? Rand McClain says this is possible – but it is not possible to have caused the aneurysm itself. What is more likely is genetic condition passed down through family. If aneurysms were more common in Jo Lindner’s family history – it is more likely that he would himself develop an aneurysm as well.
For Dr. Rand McClain, this seems like the more viable reason for his tragically young passing. Of course, McClain also notes that he has incomplete information and is only making assumptions based on the initial reports. But his assumption is based off of his many years of medical history, experience, and education.
The assumptions spreading in online discourse about anabolic steroids causing Jo Lindner’s death are based off of misinformation… or likely no information at all. It’s purely due to the reputation of bodybuilders in the larger mainstream culture.
Preventative measures to help build quality life and longevity
Jo Lindner’s passing may have been unavoidable. An unfortunate and tragic death – part of the statistical randomness of life on earth. However, there is always a chance that these sudden tragedies can be avoided with proper preventative measures.
Dr. Rand McClain did not know Jo Lindner and so cannot say what precautions he may have already been taking. But McClain does stress the importance of bloodwork and other scans in order to understand your baseline genetically. While these sort of tests are often reserved for middle age, such as 50s and 60s, McClain believes that young individuals should take these tests as well.
We are all genetically different, but catching possible issues early is always a path towards mitigating damage and possibly even death. Understanding family history and also checking beyond basic markers is vital to understanding what may be inherently flawed in your body.
This is especially true for high performance athletes like bodybuilders. Athletes in pro sports live a lifestyle very different than the average person. And in many cases use PEDs to push to new levels. Due to the dangerous nature of these drugs and the possibly extreme nature of their lifestyles – bloodwork and detailed tests are necessary to ensure health and longevity.
To not understand your baseline health before using something as dangerous as anabolic steroids is a blind risk that may be the first step towards major health issues years down the road.
Wrap Up
Dr. Rand McClain goes into far greater detail about longevity and maintaining quality of life. You can get the full information by watching the latest episode of The Mike O’Hearn Show above. Don’t forget to check out new episodes every Friday only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network or wherever podcasts are downloaded.
