http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/02/22/virginia-gamer-mysteriously-dies-during-24-hour-charity-gaming-session.html
 
These aren't always freak accidents.  I wouldn't be surprised if I've went 12 hours with a game. Gaming is an addiction.  Now if I went 12 hours in a DAW......something more positive might happen......maybe.
 
Technology is addicting. When not gaming or producing we fill the void with Facebook or online reading.  This will lead to arthritis at an early age or other ailments.  The strongest part of the body on our youth today is probably their thumbs.
 
 We i use to go to a rec center to workout I had to do it in a timely manner but kids would sit on a machine and twiddle their thumbs looking for their jam to workout.  Frustrating for me.

We're going to evolve into a race of troglodytes with gigantic eyes and huge thumbs.

Extreme sleep deprivation as the result of focused attention would be a very unusual cause of heart arrhythmia. On the other hand the use of pharmacologic stimulants like the amphetamines or cocaine to enable prolonged attention uninterrupted by sleep is common and associated with sudden cardiac death and even stroke deaths on occasion. From the article it is not clear if he should be considered a combat death or just collateral damage, but if he had been found dead in bed or in his bathroom I doubt it would have made the news. 

I was thinking along the same lines.  I can't have extreme sleep deprivation naturally, I literally have (or almost have) fallen asleep right in the middle of doing something (science calls this "micro-napping").  I've woke up in my computer chair, the restroom (including leaning against a shower wall!) or, by far the worst, once when driving (which I now take plenty of precautions against - I got very lucky that nothing bad happened).
 
Now, artificially keeping yourself awake through stimulants or other methods can definitely have negative effects with your body.  I'm going to guess that he had things far stronger than coffee running in his system.

Well, at least he ended it playing a decent MMO game (World of Tanks). I have been playing this game for the past few years. i doubt the game did him in, although there are instances where one's emotions can become elevated somewhat. Very sad (age 35, father of three). Salute.

People have died from blood clots after flying to Australia from North America or Europe. We just aren't physiologically designed to sit for that long.
 
Sleep deprivation, OTOH, usually just makes you crazy, not kill you.
 
I do know well the weird frame of mind you get into after long periods of intense concentration. As a longtime coder, I have often put in all-nighters that resulted in a psychedelic-like trance come morning. Streets look like code-execution paths and intersections like if-then decision points.
 
I have also participated in extended gaming sessions, which caused a similar disconnect from reality. I remember one 11-hour session, where afterward I stood at an elevator door and instinctively stepped back as it opened, as if a bloodthirsty alien might pop out. But despite my heightened fight-or-flight instinct, I did not die from the experience.

bitflipper
I do know well the weird frame of mind you get into after long periods of intense concentration. As a longtime coder, I have often put in all-nighters that resulted in a psychedelic-like trance come morning. Streets look like code-execution paths and intersections like if-then decision points.
 
I have also participated in extended gaming sessions, which caused a similar disconnect from reality. I remember one 11-hour session, where afterward I stood at an elevator door and instinctively stepped back as it opened, as if a bloodthirsty alien might pop out. But despite my heightened fight-or-flight instinct, I did not die from the experience.

Ohhhhh  yeahhhhhh!!!
 
My longest "work day" lasted almost 48 hours.  What non-programmers will not understand is that when you are deep into code (and you're a true geek that loves this stuff) you really lose track of everything going on around you and, without external distractions, you can get into a zone only to come out several hours later (at which time your body reminds you about lots of things like needing to go to the restroom for the last four hours, snacks and a desire for more coffee).  Eight to ten hours seemed to fly by for me when I was really in the zone...  
 
Needless to say, since I also used to run the second-most popular game servers on the West Coast (late 90's), I definitely put in some long hours gaming too.  I was ranked in the top-25 worldwide for Quake I out of over 340,000 players kept in a large database.  I also ran Half-Life and Counter Strike servers, plus I designed maps (two of which became very popular).
 
PAD and DVT are very serious concerns for coders & gamers.  I started using a timer to remind myself to get up and walk around every hour or so.  Now they have these cool rising desks so you can work sitting or standing (I want one!).
 

In 1989 I once worked from Friday afternoon, right through the weekend, until Monday mid-morning, without sleep. It took an entire week to get over, and so was ultimately pointless.