What is hyponatraemia? Symptoms explored as research claims Bruce Lee died from drinking too much water 

About half a century after the death of celebrated martial artist Bruce Lee, scientists are speculating that he may have died from drinking excessive water.

The initial cause of Lee's demise was stated as cerebral oedema. However, recent research now claims that hyponatraemia was what caused his death.

Hyponatremia occurs when blood sodium levels get diluted due to more-than-required water intake.

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Doctors' inference on how Bruce Lee may have died

A case study that was published in the Clinical Kidney Journal back in December detailed the reasons behind Lee’s condition. It says the legendary actor was at a higher risk of having hyponatraemia as he followed a juice-based diet. This was worsened by his alcohol and cannabis intake, which contributed towards increasing his thirst, thereby prompting more water intake.

According to this study, Lee drank more than the necessary amount of water required for his body. This caused his blood sodium level to fall drastically, preventing his kidney from excreting excess water through urination.

Abnormally low sodium levels in the blood ultimately result in a fluid imbalance, leading certain cells in the body to swell. In Bruce Lee’s case, the swelling in his brain was prompted by this imbalance in vital body fluids.

Accordingly, a group of doctors from the Autonomous University of Madrid came to the following conclusion:

“In other words, we propose that the kidney's inability to excrete excess water killed Bruce Lee. We hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is mainly a tubular function.”

The experts continued:

“This may lead to hyponatraemia, cerebral oedema (brain swelling) and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine, which is in line with the timeline of Lee’s demise."

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Hyponatraemia symptoms to watch out for

There are two types of hyponatraemia – acute and chronic. In acute hyponatremia, blood sodium levels fall suddenly within hours. Chronic hyponatremia occurs over days or weeks.

Mildly abnormal sodium levels in the blood might not result in anything fatal. But if the case is acute, significant symptoms can be detected. These include headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, and lethargy.

If a patient has severe chronic hyponatremia, they might not notice any sudden or drastic symptoms since their brain adapts to the lower levels of sodium over time. However, prodromes such as personality changes, confusion, lack of muscle coordination, cramps and weakness in the muscles, etc. can be caught on through medical consultation.

Other neurological symptoms involve severe drowsiness, seizures, disorientation, short-term memory loss, sunken eyes, swollen stomach and legs, low blood pressure, etc.

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What did Lee's original autopsy reveal?

In 1973, 32-year-old Bruce Lee was found dead in Hong Kong.

According to the researchers, Lee took marijuana on the day he died. Around 7:30 pm he took some medicine and drank some water for his headache and went to rest. Two hours later, Lee was found unconscious.

A visiting doctor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him, but to no avail.

Lee was taken to the nearest hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

His autopsy report declared swelling in the brain due to hypersensitivity to Equagesic as the cause of death.

These new findings about Bruce Lee's death debunked all the theories where the cause was assumed to be either an assassination, poisoning, or a heatstroke.