4 ms·
So if I see the pack of dogs from 100 yards away, and die of a heart attack as a result, what was the cause of death? And I'm asking that seriously, because so
by MR4D 6y ago
So if I see the pack of dogs from 100 yards away, and die of a heart attack as a result, what was the cause of death?
And I'm asking that seriously, because somewhere someone lost their job last month, and had a heart attack. (probably several people given the immense number of layoffs)
What is the "cause" in that case?
I'd submit that their are many causes, and some are degrees-of-freedom away from the actual virus (like the heart attack above).
Statistics are definitely complicated, and assigning a cause of death is usually not easy (maybe for a gunshot it's easy), but what about the 90 year old guy with hardened arteries, diabetes, and cancer who dies of a heart attack while in the hospital being treated for the flu? Any yes, there are tons of COVID deaths like that (basically any nursing home death).
I'd bet that five years from now we'll still be arguing about this.