Gathers Didn’t Stop Taking Medication : Aftermath: Medical expert says Loyola star probably took Inderal on the day he died.

A leading medical expert on beta-blockers and exercise said Wednesday that Hank Gathers’ toxicology tests show the former Loyola Marymount basketball player probably took medication the day he died.

According to the detailed analysis announced Monday, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office found 26 nanograms per milliliter of the drug Inderal, or propranolol, in Gathers’ system. That amount was below the therapeutic level of 50 to 290 nanograms, said coroner spokesman Bob Dambacher. A nanogram is one-billionth of a gram.

But to say Gathers’ death was caused by a sub-therapeutic level of Inderal is not true, said Dr. David Lowenthal, chairman of the Department of Geriatrics at the University of Florida.

“(The autopsy) shows he was taking his medication,” Lowenthal said in a telephone interview. “It is difficult to time the last dosage. Propranolol blood levels vary quite widely.”

Inderal, the product name for the generic propranolol, is part of a class of drugs known as beta-blockers. Inderal’s primary use is to control high blood pressure, but also is effective in suppressing cardiac arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat.

Lowenthal, whose writings on on beta-blockers and their effects on exercise have been published extensively, said that because Inderal dissipates quickly in the system, Gathers “could have had a good therapeutic level when he took it.”

Inderal has a half life of 3 1/2-4 hours, Lowenthal said. That means that 50% of the substance is eliminated every four hours by the body after a dose is taken. Inderal usually is ingested in tablet form.

Lowenthal said that researchers are studying the effects of exercise on propranolol. Although it remains scientific speculation, experts believe that exercise increases the half life of the drug.

Medical reports indicate that Gathers’ prescription was for 40 milligrams of Inderal twice a day at least 12 days before he died on March 4. Lowenthal, who does not have access to Gathers’ medical records and was not an attending physician, said it is likely that Gathers took the medication on the morning of March 4 if his prescription had not changed.

“If he didn’t take it Sunday, the (toxicology result) would have been much lower,” Lowenthal said. “The 26-nanogram level probably meant he was ready for his next dosage.”

The level and its apparent meaning could be important in potential lawsuits resulting from Gathers’ death.

Gathers fainted Dec. 9 while at the free-throw line in a game against UC Santa Barbara. After undergoing extensive cardiology testing, physicians diagnosed his condition as an irregular heartbeat. Inderal was prescribed to control the condition. He also was tested regularly to ensure that the dosage, which, according to his family’s lawyer, was gradually reduced over the three-month period, was effective.

Experts say there is no way of knowing whether Gathers ignored physicians’ advice and further reduced the dose. His last test was Feb. 20.

According to friends, Gathers complained that high doses of Inderal made him sluggish, a common side effect associated with the drug.

Last season, he led the country in scoring and rebounding, and was projected as a first-round choice in this summer’s NBA draft. He had difficulty playing at 100% efficiency, however, after returning to the lineup Dec. 30.

His quickness returned and his spirit improved, however, and just before collapsing in Loyola’s game against the University of Portland in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals March 4, Gathers had made a thundering dunk.

He was pronounced dead 1 hour 40 minutes later at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey.