The Uruguayan football player Juan Izquierdo died on Tuesday night (27), five days after suffering a cardiac arrest due to arrhythmia. The defender was hospitalized at the Albert Einstein Hospital, in São Paulo.
Izquierdo, who played for Nacional, fell ill and fainted on the pitch during the match between the Uruguayan club and São Paulo last Thursday (22), in a match valid for the round of 16 of the Libertadores.
According to Uruguayan authorities, the athlete had been diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia in 2014 during a series of tests carried out by a Uruguayan government program. On the other hand, Nacional president Alejandro Balbi stated that the athlete did not present any heart problems in tests carried out by the club.
According to Alexsandro Fagundes, cardiologist and president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiac Arrhythmias (Sobrac), a previous diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia can increase the risk of a new episode of arrhythmia depending on the type and severity of the condition.
“Cardiac arrhythmia is not just one thing. There are different arrhythmias, which are a set of situations in which the heart rhythm is not following a normal cadence,” explains the specialist. “Generally speaking, if you have a potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia, it is likely to get worse if nothing is done,” he adds.
In cases of serious cardiac arrhythmias, high-intensity sports, such as soccer, for example, can put the patient at serious health risk, according to the cardiologist. “When we perform an electrocardiogram in an athlete’s screening and detect an electrical defect or a muscle defect, these situations [práticas esportivas intensas] are prohibitive. The problem needs to be resolved before releasing it for sports,” he says.
On the other hand, mild cardiac arrhythmias, without severity, do not contraindicate the practice of physical activity. However, the cardiologist emphasizes that this is generic information.
“We are not sure what specifically happened to the athlete. What we are sure of is that he had a malignant arrhythmia on the field, which was witnessed, and that it could have been reversed with the application of a shock from the automatic external defibrillator, which is mandatory in football stadiums, to immediately treat this circulatory collapse,” he adds.
What are cardiac arrhythmias?
Cardiac arrhythmia is a condition that alters the rhythm of the heartbeat, causing it to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. According to Roberto Kalil, cardiologist and presenter of CNN Vital Signs arrhythmia can occur at any age, but there are different types and causes.
“We have arrhythmias called benign, in quotation marks, which do not pose a risk to life, and arrhythmias called malignant, in a very didactic way, which can pose a risk to life, a risk of cardiac arrest, of so-called sudden death,” explained the specialist.
The cardiologist highlighted that sudden death, in most cases, is caused by structural heart disease. This includes heart attacks, changes in the heart valves or problems with the heart muscle. Kalil emphasized that the highest incidence occurs in people who suffer from ischemia, that is, a lack of blood to the heart.
“You close an artery in the heart and you have a lack of blood to the heart cells, which leads to an imbalance in the heart’s electrical system, causing arrhythmia,” Kalil explained. He added that some arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation, are precursors to cardiac arrest and require immediate care.
How to treat and prevent arrhythmias?
Treatment for arrhythmia in young people depends on the cause and severity of the condition. In many cases, lifestyle changes such as reducing stress, avoiding stimulants, and balancing exercise are enough to control symptoms. In other cases, medication may be necessary or, in more serious cases, procedures such as catheter placement.
“It is important to detect different signs of arrhythmia, which may be a change in the electrocardiogram, in which the patient will undergo correction through catheter ablation,” explains Fagundes. “Signs of heart defects may be detected after a heart attack or myocarditis. In some cases, patients may be candidates for implanting a pacemaker or defibrillator, which are devices that regulate and control the heart rate to act in the event of a possible ventricular arrhythmia,” he adds.
In some cases, medications can also be used to prevent arrhythmias and treat the condition. However, in general, treatment is usually immediate. “We are talking about a maximum emergency in cardiology. Therefore, treatment must be immediate. If the patient has not fainted or lost consciousness, he or she must be immediately admitted and monitored, and receive antiarrhythmic medication,” says the cardiologist.
See which foods can reduce the risk of heart and kidney disease
This content was originally published in Does previous cardiac arrhythmia increase the risk of a new episode? Find out more on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
