Teen who ate spicy tortilla chip died of high chile consumption and had a heart defect, autopsy says

This week’s Insider Deals are so good you’ll want all of themFILE - A Paqui One Chip Challenge chip is displayed in Boston, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance with a high capsaicin concentration, according to autopsy results The Associated Press obtained late Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Capsaicin is a chili pepper extract. Harris Wolobah died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip.

The autopsy also said that Harris had cardiomegaly, meaning an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described as “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.” Large doses of capsaicin can increase how the heart squeezes, putting extra pressure on the artery, noted Dr. Syed Haider, a cardiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

Despite the warning, children had no problem buying the chips, and there had been reports from around the country of teens who got sick after taking part in the chip-eating challenge. Among them were three California high school students who were taken to a hospital and seven students in Minnesota who were treated by paramedics after taking part in the challenge in 2022.

The challenge called for participants to eat the Paqui chip and then see how long they could go without consuming other food and water. Sales of the chip seemed largely driven by people posting videos on social media of them or their friends taking the challenge. They showed people, including children, unwrapping the packaging, eating the chips and then reacting to the heat. Some videos showed people gagging, coughing and begging for water.

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