Heart defect caused 4-year-old to die on Disney ride
Key points
- According to a Florida autopsy report a 4-year-old boy who collapsed in June after riding a rocket simulator at Walt Disney World had a serious heart defect which caused his death.
- The autopsy revealed that Daudi Bamuwamye, who was on vacation from Pennsylvania with his family, apparently suffered a cardiac arrhythmia due to an abnormality of the heart muscle that he probably had since birth.
- Jan Garavaglia, the chief medical examiner for the district said that people with this condition are at risk for sudden death throughout their life due to abnormal electrical heart rhythms, and that risk could be increased under physical or emotionally stressful situations.
- It appears that Daudi became rigid while riding Epcot's Mission: SPACE, a technologically advanced attraction that uses spinning centrifugal force to create the sensation of a rocket launch.
According to a Florida autopsy report a 4-year-old boy who collapsed in June after riding a rocket simulator at Walt Disney World had a serious heart defect which caused his death.
The autopsy revealed that Daudi Bamuwamye, who was on vacation from Pennsylvania with his family, apparently suffered a cardiac arrhythmia due to an abnormality of the heart muscle that he probably had since birth.
Dr. Jan Garavaglia, the chief medical examiner for the district said that people with this condition are at risk for sudden death throughout their life due to abnormal electrical heart rhythms, and that risk could be increased under physical or emotionally stressful situations.
It appears that Daudi became rigid while riding Epcot's Mission: SPACE, a technologically advanced attraction that uses spinning centrifugal force to create the sensation of a rocket launch.
Bamuwamye's mother told investigators he was unresponsive by the end of the ride.
After determining there was no trauma to Bamuwamye's body, and no malfunctions with the ride, Disney reopened the attraction the following morning.
Disney displays warning signs and audio recordings to discourage visitors from riding the attraction if they are pregnant or have heart conditions or back and neck problems
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Heart & Blood Vessels →
NewsStem Cell Regeneration Repairs Congenital Heart Defect
Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that stem cells can be used to regenerate heart tissue to treat dilated cardiomyopathy, a congenital defect. Publication of the discovery was expedited by the editors of Stem…
12 September 2008
NewsChest Pain Common One Year After Heart Attack
Nearly one in five patients experiences chest pain one year after having a heart attack, according to a report in the June 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. One of the main…
25 June 2008
NewsGenetically-Caused Low HDL Cholesterol Not Linked With Higher Risk of Heart Disease
Lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol due to a gene mutation is not associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease, according to a study in the June 4 issue of JAMA. Numerous studies…
