Comment by dredmorbius

I'm not claiming either that:

1. The direct cause of Robert Atkins' fallin on ice was heart disease.

2. That his falling on ice is proof of heart disease.

Rather, I'm explaining how, as one of several precipitating factors, heart disease might be a factor in the question posed: "I don't get it: heart disease causes people to slip on ice?"

I'm suggesting that a multifactor risk analysis be considered.

It's the same multi-factor logic you might follow in answering questions of other disasters. Say: What caused the disaster of the RMS Titanic? What caused the Hindenberg disaster? What cause the Fukushima or Chernobyl disasters? What lead to the Bhopal disaster.

Looking only at the precipitating or triggering cause misses many other opportunities for mitigation or avoidance. The Titanic would have been better served with more lifeboats, 24/7 manned radios, regular lifeboat drills, the originally-scheduled first officer not having (inadvertently) pocketed the key to the bridge's binoculars case, heeding ice warnings, less hubris on the part of passengers, owners, and regulatory boards.

Old, sick people are more likely to slip and fall, and the hazards of such falls can be greater than for young, fit, healthy people.

To amend to your Zen of Python list: make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.