Players Collapsing with Heart Problems

[Jefe]

Sheffield United's John Fleck is the latest player to collapse unchallenged with an apparent heart problem. This follows the recent revelation Sergio Aguero will have to retire with heart complications. There seems to have been a spike in players suffering serious heart conditions, Christian Eriksen of course being the most high profile example. A Wikipedia article lists 14 players having collapsed on the pitch and later died in 2021, which is a huge increase on previous years. By comparison, there were five such deaths in 2018 and 2019. Now, German newspaper Berliner Zeitung has called for an investigation following the "unusually large number of professional and amateur soccer players have collapsed recently."

 

[AndyWolves]

Less games played during 2018, 2019 due to Covid which meant the players who would have died during those years didn't until they started playing again, maybe?

 

[AndyWolves]

Oh, and we don't know Fleck had heart problems. Nothing in that article seems to mention it

 

[Zico]

The wiki article doesn't mention heart problems either, it's a list of players who died on the pitch or following an incident on the pitch. So a bit of a clickbait thread title really.

 

[JonahWolf]

Recent athletic article saying similar.

Just to stir the pot….the chances of inflammation around the heart are higher after COVID vaccination.
But nowhere near as high as after having COVID.

Guess which of those 2 statistics gets the most attention.
(Only applicable to higher end pro but) it also shows the quite unbelievable omission of any more than perfunctory heart screening on highly paid, professional athletes, that are huge value assets to clubs.
They look at every bone and muscle in minute detail, scanning everything, in rigorous medicals when moving clubs….but barring an ECG and stress test, nothing deeper on the organ that could end their life or career in an instant.

 

[Direwolf]

It's probably echocardiogram's that are the key investigation to rule out the cardiomyopathies (Dilated, Hypertrophic) as these are often behind life threatening arrythmias.

 

[I'm the Wanderer]

I wonder if steroids has anything to do with this? you can bet your ass that tons of players roid up.

 

[hankin]

Well, whatever caused his collapse it is concerning so let's hope that he is fine.

 

[Deleted member 11021Mcm]

All double jabbed??? It isn’t just a football thing.

 

[Jefe]

Less games played during 2018, 2019 due to Covid which meant the players who would have died during those years didn't until they started playing again, maybe?

The Football seasons during 2018 and 2019 were not affected. Football stopped in March 2020. You are correct that Fleck's condition has not been confirmed to be heart related; FWIW, I have read unconfirmed stuff online that it was a heart murmur.

 

[OLDGOLD]

It's probably echocardiogram's that are the key investigation to rule out the cardiomyopathies (Dilated, Hypertrophic) as these are often behind life threatening arrythmias.

Yes,echo is great for HCM and DCM but they don't pick out the electrical abnormalities, some of which occur in hearts that look structurally normal. Likewise not all electrical abnormalities are picked out on routine ecg or prolonged monitoring or execg even. You would even miss some with EP studies, so it becomes a case of doing what you reasonably can to prevent as many incidents as you can.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

I wonder if steroids has anything to do with this? you can bet your ass that tons of players roid up.

You can bet your ass there’s not tons of players on steroids. The amount of drug testing in football is higher than any other sport.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Recent athletic article saying similar.

Just to stir the pot….the chances of inflammation around the heart are higher after COVID vaccination.
But nowhere near as high as after having COVID.

Guess which of those 2 statistics gets the most attention.
(Only applicable to higher end pro but) it also shows the quite unbelievable omission of any more than perfunctory heart screening on highly paid, professional athletes, that are huge value assets to clubs.
They look at every bone and muscle in minute detail, scanning everything, in rigorous medicals when moving clubs….but barring an ECG and stress test, nothing deeper on the organ that could end their life or career in an instant.

Oh, at least I know why the thread started now!

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

I’m not medically trained in the slightest but my theory (and it’s just a theory) is that players now are like thoroughbred horses and pushed to the absolute limit in training and in matches, I’m convinced that level of intensity buts undue stress on the heart. Footballers at all professional levels are significantly fitter now than 20 years ago.

 

[I'm the Wanderer]

You can bet your ass there’s not tons of players on steroids. The amount of drug testing in football is higher than any other sport.

Boxers get tested more and a lot of them are roiding anyway. why wouldn't footballers? bigger, faster, stronger.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Could of been a reaction to the vaccine it’s happening a lot in younger people

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Boxers get tested more and a lot of them are roiding anyway. why wouldn't footballers? bigger, faster, stronger.

There is no issue of steroids in football. Clubs test them, the FA test them, UEFA test them, FIFA test them

 

[derbyrameater]

I’m not medically trained in the slightest but my theory (and it’s just a theory) is that players now are like thoroughbred horses and pushed to the absolute limit in training and in matches, I’m convinced that level of intensity buts undue stress on the heart. Footballers at all professional levels are significantly fitter now than 20 years ago.

I've thought the same for a while now, some players have haunted eyes and look old before their time.

 

[AndyWolves]

I've thought the same for a while now, some players have haunted eyes and look old before their time.

I thought the opposite! Some players in their late 20s back in the 80s/90s looked very old indeed

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

I've thought the same for a while now, some players have haunted eyes and look old before their time.

Plus they don’t get any breaks with so much tournament football. It’s not healthy to train as hard as they do, playing a high intensity sport twice a week and then having a couple of weeks off in the summer (where clubs still insist on them training to an extent)

 

[AndyWolves]

Could of been a reaction to the vaccine it’s happening a lot in younger people

This is interesting, do you have any links?

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

This is interesting, do you have any links?

Very few and (mostly) very mild cases according to this research.

Heart-inflammation risk from Pfizer COVID vaccine is very low

Two studies from Israel quantify the risk of myocarditis following the Pfizer–BioNTech shot, with one suggesting the chance of developing the condition is about one in 50,000.

www.nature.com

Aguerro did have quite a bad actual case of Covid though.

 

[GY Wolf]

You can bet your ass there’s not tons of players on steroids. The amount of drug testing in football is higher than any other sport.

Cycling is highly tested, but..

I should probably be careful but I'd be amazed if there wasn't widespread doping in football, the same can apply to tennis, boxing and others.

 

[JonahWolf]

This is interesting, do you have any links?

There is evidence that is the case, so when anti-vaxxers trot it out, it is indeed true.
However, the rise in likelihood of developing myocarditis above ‘normal/average’ is far higher after contracting COVID than in general population pre-COVID, or indeed the vaccinated.

Which somehow gets less of a mention. It’s pretty likely to be what happened with Boly, when experiencing racing pulse during normal recovery and training.

Myocarditis is more common after covid-19 infection than vaccination

A preliminary study suggests that, among those most likely to develop myocarditis, the heart condition is six times more likely to occur after having covid-19 than after getting vaccinated

www.newscientist.com

There is a longer form article on gov.uk containing much of the same information (if want a slightly better source), but the numbers aren’t presented as neatly for comparison.

 

[sedgwolf1980]

It’s a disgrace that no one in mainstream media is properly reporting into this.

Kind of tells you all you need to know really.

 

[JaycogWolf]

It’s a disgrace that no one in mainstream media is properly reporting into this.

Kind of tells you all you need to know really.

Of course completely agree mainstream media won’t openly report this because they hate to admit that the vaccine has caused this in yet another footballer.

Problem is the media has made so many people scared and blinkered about the “virus” feel sorry for them.

 

[OLDGOLD]

I wonder if steroids has anything to do with this? you can bet your ass that tons of players roid up.

Unlikely. Football is not the sort of sport that steroids would,make a huge competitive advantage in.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

It’s a disgrace that no one in mainstream media is properly reporting into this.

Kind of tells you all you need to know really.

Probably because the MSM is controlled by Murdoch and he’s a massive part in players being treated like robots

 

[Jonzy54]

Our youngest daughter specialises in cardiomyopathy

 

[I'm the Wanderer]

Unlikely. Football is not the sort of sport that steroids would,make a huge competitive advantage in.

sure it is...there are roids for weight loss, roids for endurance, roids for power.

 

[Ned]

I’m not medically trained in the slightest but my theory (and it’s just a theory) is that players now are like thoroughbred horses and pushed to the absolute limit in training and in matches, I’m convinced that level of intensity buts undue stress on the heart. Footballers at all professional levels are significantly fitter now than 20 years ago.

Came here to say this. There is only a certain level of fitness that somebody can reach and I wonder whether it’s actually a strain on the body being so fit for such a long period of time.

 

[geowolf]

Anyway Fleck's been released from hospital. Here's wishing him a full and fast recovery.

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Our youngest daughter specialises in cardiomyopathy

And?

 

[Jonzy54]

And?

Someone mentioned Cardiomyopathy earlier and I have learned a lot about the effects of physical exercise and the pressure on the heart in fit young athletes these days, from her .

 

[ombyman]

I've thought the same for a while now, some players have haunted eyes and look old before their time.

Maybe it's the weight of their ginormous wallets causing it

 

[WickedWolfie]

Of course completely agree mainstream media won’t openly report this because they hate to admit that the vaccine has caused this in yet another footballer.

Problem is the media has made so many people scared and blinkered about the “virus” feel sorry for them.

"admit"??? Any actual proof as opposed to unsubstantiated assertions?

 

[Incognito]

I've thought the same for a while now, some players have haunted eyes and look old before their time.

That's what playing for Albion, Blues, Villa, Walsall or Stoke does to you.

 

[Incognito]

This thread is exactly why I live life at a leisurely pace.

 

[Krispy Kreme]

You can bet your ass there’s not tons of players on steroids. The amount of drug testing in football is higher than any other sport.

Doesn't stop pro bodybuilders who are tested rigorously, isn't our new Dr the same guy who was caught up in a doping scandal with Mo Farah?

Obama of Ajax was caught recently.

The big scandal around Jamaica's sprint team versus America is that the anti doping body whatever they're called can hardly ever get in touch with the Jamaicans in Jamaica as they go off grid.

There are ways and means around everything and if it's the difference between being a technically good league 2 player who barely makes a living say, or being a championship player who will live comfortably forever then human nature would lend itself to many taking a risk, along with having money to pay Drs Agents etc.

 

[Zico]

Could of been a reaction to the vaccine it’s happening a lot in younger people

No it isn't. Stop scaremongering.