Rachel Kolisi on Siya’s close call during All Blacks game: I don’t wish moments like this on anyone
IT'S THAT nerve-racking moment when the world seems to stop, and your heart is beating loud in your chest when you watch the person you love go down, and there's not a thing you can do about it but hope and pray.
For Rachel Kolisi, it's an all-toofamiliar feeling while watching husband Siya Kolisi take a tackle to the ground, with her worst fears almost coming to life on Saturday.
The match ended with Kolisi leading South Africa to a 31-29 win over the All Blacks, but there was that gut-wrenching moment when he was forced off the field by a heavy knock.
Taking to Instagram, Rachel shared how she was feeling the moment he went down.
“I don't ever wish moments like this on anyone. When you see them go down like that, It's so hard to put into words what it feels like, but scary and helpless are probably a good place start. Specially when your kids are very aware of what's going on too,” she wrote.
“I've sat next to many others that have experienced those same moments. Some were fine, some had lengthy injuries, and others never played the game again.
“I think we often forget these men and women put their bodies on the line for this game, and things can change in a moment.
“I celebrate and thank Jesus every time Siya walks off the field safely, today a little more,” she concluded.
Thankfully, things turned out fine for the Bok captain, and the good news is that the team is heading home in the coming week. He must be desperately missing his family as he responded to Rachel's post with a simple “I love you”.
ADULTS with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes whose blood pressure increased at night had more than double the risk of dying compared to those whose blood pressure “dipped” during sleep, according to a 21-year study presented at the American Heart Association's Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2021.
Blood pressure normally declines, or dips, during sleep. If blood pressure does not adequately decrease during the night, it is called “non-dipping”. If blood pressure increases at night relative to daytime levels, the phenomenon is referred to as “reverse dipping”.
These abnormal blood pressure patterns are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular complications and death in adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
“Our study shows that 1 in 10 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes could be a reverse dipper, and that this condition likely more than doubles the risk of death from any cause over 21 years' time, regardless of blood pressure control.
“It is important that healthcare professionals look for abnormal blood pressure dipping patterns in people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes,” Martina Chiriaco, an investigator in the department of clinical and experimental medicine at the University of Pisa in Pisa, Italy.
In the study, the researchers also assessed the role of heart rate variability in their study group. Heart rate variability is a measure of the variation in times between each heartbeat.
“Low heart rate variability is associated with worse health for people with heart failure and increases the risk of coronary artery disease in the general population. However, there is still a scarcity of long-term information on the association of reduced heart rate variability with mortality among people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes,” Chiriaco said.
Researchers studied 349 adults with diabetes in Pisa beginning in 1999. Researchers found more than half of the participants had nondipping blood pressure during the night, and 20% were reverse dippers.
They also found nearly onethird of reverse dippers had cardiac autonomic neuropathy versus 11% of those who had no dips.
Cardiac autonomic neuropathy is a serious complication of diabetes in which the nerves that control the heart and blood vessels are damaged. This nerve damage affects blood pressure and heart rate regulation, increasing the risk of death and cardiovascular events.