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The Barcelona FC player is reportedly suffering from an arrhythmia that is being treated. What does this mean for your career?
Sergio Kun Agüero, a recent addition to Barcelona FC, suffers from a heart problem that became evident in the last game on Saturday. The entire audience was concerned when the player was removed from the medical field after manifesting chest symptoms.
While the match with Alavés was being played, around minute 40 of the first half, Agüero lay on the ground with chest tightness, neck discomfort, dizziness and shortness of breath. Although he was able to leave the field on foot, at first, he was later transferred by ambulance to a hospital.
The first official Barcelona FC report was as follows:
Kun Agüero has reported an episode of chest discomfort and has been transferred to the hospital for a cardiology study.
What is the player’s heart problem? What risks does it have? We analyze it.
Arrhythmias: changes in the rhythm of the heart
It has become known that the heart problem of the Kun Agüero is an arrhythmia. However, this category is very broad, since it involves any alteration in the rhythm of the heartbeat.
It has not been possible to know with certainty which of all the arrhythmias the Argentine player suffers from. Some journalists have said that when he was removed from the field on Saturday, his pulse rate was very high for his age and physical condition. This suggests a tachyarrhythmia.
And it is that cardiac arrhythmias can have a heart rate lower than normal or an increased heart rate. Furthermore, within each of these subgroups there are more diagnostic possibilities.
A tachyarrhythmia could be Sergio Agüero’s heart problem
So, collecting the data that exists, assuming the player has a tachyarrhythmia is most likely. Especially considering that he has already undergone a treatment at the hands of Dr. Josep Brugada.
As Barcelona FC once again officially reported, the intervention implies 90 days off for the athlete:
The player Kun Agüero has undergone a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure by Dr. Josep Brugada. It is low and during the next three months the effectiveness of the treatment will be evaluated to determine your recovery process.
Dr. Brugada is a highly recognized specialist in cardiology around the world. Even a syndrome associated with sudden death in adults it bears his name, after having discovered and described it in the 1990s with other colleagues.
Types of tachyarrhythmias
As we already clarified, the specific type of arrhythmia the player suffers from has not been reported. We also do not know what procedure was applied to treat it. We assume that it is a tachyarrhythmia and that the therapy and the time of rest could indicate, for example, atrial fibrillation.
Tachyarrhythmias are pathological changes in heart rate with a succession of beats greater than 100 per minute. They are supraventricular if the beats originate in the atria and ventricular if the focus is in the ventricles of the heart.
The most relevant forms of presentation are the following:
- Sinus tachycardia: this arrhythmia does not require treatment. It is an elevation of the heart rate above 100 beats per minute, but without pathological repercussions. It can be caused by exercise or anxiety, for example.
- Atrial extrasystoles: They are forward electrical impulses that interrupt the normal interval between beats. That is, a beat appears early in isolation.
- Atrial fibrillation: It could be Sergio Agüero’s heart problem. It’s arrhythmia more frequent to find and is characterized by a disorderly heartbeat. The origin is in the presence of multiple foci in the atria that produce beats at the same time, without coordination. In general, patients report chest pain, shortness of breath, and dizziness. The therapeutic approach consists of trying to return the heart rate to normal, with drugs or with an electrical cardioversion. If the doctor stipulates it, a surgical intervention is added to remove structural alterations of the heart that could be responsible for the disorder. In addition, anticoagulants or antiplatelets are indicated to reduce the possibility of fibrillation causing thrombi.
- Flutter or flutter handset: it is very similar to atrial fibrillation, only the rate stabilizes at approximately 150 beats per minute.
- Ventricular extrasystoles: like their atrial counterparts, they are electrical impulses originating in areas of the ventricles that should not command the heartbeat. They are not very symptomatic, although some patients perceive a kind of pause between a few beats.
- Sustained ventricular tachycardia: it is a form of tachycardia more present in patients with a history of heart disease. Frequencies greater than 100 beats per minute occur for more than 30 seconds. They can lead to syncope.
- Ventricular fibrillation: this is the most dangerous and deadly arrhythmia. The heartbeat is completely disorganized and the ventricles cannot exert their function of expelling blood towards the circulatory system. In a few minutes after its establishment, it can cause death. There is no other way to treat it than with a electrical cardioversion.
Can Agüero’s heart problem end in sudden death?
The question has arisen about the possibility that the Argentine player of Barcelona FC is at risk of sudden death. Whenever these episodes appear in sport, events of athletes who died practicing their profession are remembered.
In strict terms, sudden death in sport has an incidence that is low. There is no significant difference cases compared to the rest of the population who do not exercise professionally.
People have been found over 50 years who practice intense exercises are more prone to the episode. This would not be the case for Sergio Agüero.
It is true that many arrhythmias need treatment to avoid complications. Atrial fibrillation, as we have well described it, requires an approach that contemplates the reduction of the possibility of manufacturing thrombi.
Clots from a fibrillating heart can travel through the circulatory system to block blood from reaching other organs. This is known as thromboembolism and it is responsible for some strokes, for example.
What awaits Sergio Agüero?
The 90 days of rest that have been taken with the footballer are preventive. The idea is to evaluate your response to treatment to rule out future risks. In this way, it will be possible to determine whether or not he returns to the courts and under what conditions.
There is no question that you receive the best possible medical advice. Dr. Josep Brugada is a world-renowned specialist. Only within 3 months will it be possible to know if the risk is minimal enough for the athlete to return to the intense activity demanded by Barcelona FC and the Argentine National Team.
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