April 27, 2004

College Student Suffers Fatal Heart Attack At Slipknot Show

By Jon Wiederhorn (MTV.com)

A 21-year-old senior at Central Michigan University suffered a heart attack at a Slipknot concert in Detroit on April 16 and died four days later.

Alecia Holst of Middleville, Michigan, had no history of heart trouble, but she experienced a sudden arrhythmia at Harpo's Concert Theatre during a show on the Jägermeister Music Tour and was immediately treated by firefighters on the scene. She was taken outside to the sidewalk, given CPR and then rushed to St. John Hospital & Medical Center. Conditions at the concert played no factor in her death, according to her mother, Marcia.

By the time Holst's heart was revived, her brain had been without oxygen for 20 minutes. "If she had survived with her heart [in that condition], she would have had no capability as far as brain activity," Holst's mother said.

At the hospital, Holst's condition gradually worsened, and she died on Tuesday. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system. Holst was an organ donor, and gave her eyes, pancreas, liver and kidneys.

At press time, Slipknot's label had no comment.