Doctors say Kyle Busch's pneumonia escalated quickly to sepsis, causing his death
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Kyle Busch's passing has sent shockwaves through the racing community, as well as some in the medical industry.
"(It was) surprising, was very fast," said UNC Health Critical Medicine Specialist Dr. Kenton Dover.
Busch died at a Charlotte hospital just hours after it was publicly announced he had been admitted. His family said in a statement Saturday that Busch died from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
The two-time NASCAR champion died at 41-years-old.
Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the CDC.
"It's a shame with all the doctors and medicines and everything you don't if he was feeling that poorly he should have went to the doctor," said fan Lorie Kingry.
Dover says that type of progression is not common, but unfortunately happens.
"If there's any symptoms that are red flag type symptoms, you should get evaluated sooner rather than later," he said. "When I say red flag, I mean things like severe shortness of breath, severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, coughing up blood or, you know, for our elderly patients, sometimes it can just be confusion or, just not acting themselves."
The latest data from the CDC finds that pneumonia has been responsible for more than 41,000 deaths, lead to 1.2 million ER visits and that even though there's a vaccine to help protect adults 18 and older, only 25 percent of the population has received it.
Dover said of the vaccine, "We do know it's very effective and it has very minimal side effects."
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