The Boston Celtics announced Saturday that the contract of Jeff Green will be voided as a result of the forward being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. The 25-year-old will undergo season-ending heart surgery to repair the problem.
This incident is important on both micro and macro scales.
After reporting to training camp on Dec. 9, the condition was discovered when Green failed a stress test during his physical. Several cardiac specialists recommended the surgery that should allow Green to resume his basketball career next season.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, an aortic aneurysm (which can cause fatal bleeding) is described as, “a weakened and bulging area in the upper part of the aorta, the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body. Because the aorta is the body’s main supplier of blood, a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm can cause life-threatening bleeding.”
Green is not the first professional athlete this year who has discovered a life-threatening condition via a team physical.
In October, the Eagles medical staff discovered a brain tumor when running back Jerome Harrison underwent a required physical after being traded by the Detroit Lions to Philadelphia. The Washington Post reported that Harrison told the Eagles doctor he suffered from headaches, prompting the doctor to order an MRI which revealed the tumor. ESPN reported that Harrison’s surgery was successful as doctors removed the entire tumor.
Had Harrison not been traded, or Green not signed a new contract, both of their lives would still be in medical jeopardy, at best.
News of Green’s heart condition elicited sad memories for Celtics fans as the death of Reggie Lewis in 1993 still haunts Boston. The late Celtic died during an off-season practice after having previously shown symptoms of a heart condition (including collapsing during a playoff game) in the months leading up to his death.
Lewis died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, commonly referred to as an an enlarged heart, the same condition that took the life of Fred Thompson, an Oregon State freshman football player who died on Dec. 7.
Like Green’s condition, an enlarged heart can easily go undetected due to lack of physical symptoms. According to an Associated Press story about the death of Thompson, “Dr. Karen Gunson said Friday that the 19-year-old had increased thickness of the heart muscle, which can cause an irregular heartbeat during strenuous exercise. She says the condition is a common cause of death in young athletes who seem completely healthy but die during heavy exercise.”
Despite the fact that few people exhibit symptoms of an enlarged heart, some do, and others could if they underwent physical testing, such as the stress test that helped reveal Green’s condition. According to the Mayo Clinic website, “in a small number of people with this condition, the thickened heart muscle can cause signs and symptoms, such as shortness of breath and problems in the heart’s electrical system resulting in life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).”
If an athlete exhibits any symptoms, a simple, painless test called an Echocardiogram (ECG) could be administered to diagnose an enlarged heart and other heart conditions. In fact, several countries and the International Olympic Committee now require athletes to undergo screening including an ECG before partaking in sports, according to a story written by CNN’s Elizabeth Landau in March of this year after four high school student athletes died of heart conditions during athletic competition within a two week period.
“There are about 50 to 100 sudden deaths among athletes in middle, high school and college every year, said Dr. Marlon Rosenbaum, associate clinical professor of medicine and pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons,” wrote Landau.
The same article ( http://tinyurl.com/6nfepto ) cites two differing studies; one of which found mandatory ECG testing did not affect the number of sudden athlete deaths in Israel and another study which previously found a reduction in sudden deaths among athletes after the implementation of mandatory testing in Italy.
While the impact of screening is debatable, that is exactly the point; there should be a debate. I have long maintained that professional athletes (and even college athletes for that matter) should undergo both physical and mental evaluations three times per year. Once during the preseason, again during the season and once more at season’s end.
Why should some football and hockey players suffer head injuries in a game and not be given a concussion test immediately?
Why should an athlete wait to get traded to undergo a simple test that would subsequently reveal a brain tumor?
Why should three NHL enforcers fight mental demons which stemmed from the game and resulted in their deaths?
While Derek Boogaard addressed mental health and addiction issues by going to rehab, he was embarrassed and worried about how his reputation might be impacted ( http://nyti.ms/vvLrZM ). Surely mandatory physical and mental evaluations would simultaneously help to reduce the stigma of weakness associated with health issues and perhaps, reveal life threatening conditions before its too late.
Click here to read Elizabeth Landau’s article on how teen athlete deaths can be prevented: http://tinyurl.com/6nfepto
Click here to read “Punched Out: The Life and Death of a Hockey Enforcer,” a fascinating 3-part series about Derek Boogaard by John Branch of the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/vvLrZM
Chargers G Kris Dielman Out After Suffering Seizure On Team Plane Following Jets Game In Which He Sustained A Concussion And Continued Playing
The San Diego Chargers, in the words of Ricky Ricardo, “have some explaining to do!”
Remember when the Bolts’ left guard Kris Dielman stumbled around the field, struggling to find his balance after a first down play against the Jets at the Meadowlands last Sunday? Did you find yourself surprised when the Chargers left their four-time Pro Bowl player in the game, despite the fact that he never appeared to fully regain his composure?
If you, like me, found yourself worried for Dielman, turns out we both had good reason to be.
The 30-year-old, in his ninth NFL season will miss the Chargers’ next two games (at least) after suffering a “violent” and “scary” Grand mal seizure on the airplane near the end of the Charger’s flight home after their loss to the Jets, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Apparently, Dielman did, in fact suffer a concussion on a first down blocking play where Mike Tolbert lost a yard at the 12:33 mark of the fourth quarter. As you can see in the video above, the guard staggers around the field, clearly disoriented, prompting a referee to tend to Dielman.
Here’s where the situation gets shady. The Chargers took a timeout at that point, yet resumed the game with Dielman still on the field, not only for the rest of that particular Chargers possession, but for the rest of the game. I can’t remember if Dielman was checked out on the sideline or on the field before or during the time out, or if the TV broadcast even showed it. It happened quickly and I can’t find that portion of the video currently.
While Dielman did not confirm having the seizure, he did have this to say to the Union Tribune: “I just banged my head a little bit. Now I gotta deal with it.”
According to the article, “while it would seem unfathomably coincidental, two sources said doctors were not certain the concussion and seizure were related.”
This is what I know for sure. After that Chargers time out, I was shocked to see Dielman back in the game. I kept my eyes on him for the following two plays, the latter of which was Darrell Revis’ 64-yard interception. In both plays, Dielman could not keep his head upright in his stance. He was the only player on the line with his head completely down. It looked like he attempted to keep his head upright and look forward a few times right after lining up, but he couldn’t hold on, subsequently dropping his head down.
Speaking with the Union Tribune, Dielman’s agent Mike McCartney expressed frustration with the Chargers (he also sounded off on Twitter) over their treatment, or lack thereof, of his client.
“If Kris, indeed, suffered a concussion and continued to play, I’m extremely disappointed,” McCartney said.”
“McCartney said he did not know when Dielman’s concussion was diagnosed. A player suspected of having suffered a concussion is required by NFL policy to be evaluated using the NFL “sidelines concussion exam.”
According to the Mayo Clinic website, while Grand mal seizures are commonly associated with Epilepsy, it lists “traumatic head injuries” as a cause.
“Grand mal seizures occur when the electrical activity over the whole surface of the brain becomes abnormally synchronized,” according to the website. In other words, it’s some serious s***.
If the referees, players and viewers at home all witnessed Dielman wobbling like a drunk college kid outside of a bar, how did the Chargers coaching and medical staff not notice? Surely, they did notice, but chose the wrong course of action.
The Union Tribune article says that San Diego was out of options, inferring that is what kept Dielman on the field, despite the injury. “At the time Dielman was hurt, the Chargers ostensibly had no one to replace him. Scott Mruczkowski had suffered a neck injury, Brandyn Dombrowski was already playing left tackle after the departure of Marcus McNeill due to injury and Green was inactive.”
Until a doctor who has personally checked out Dielman says that the concussion and seizure are unrelated, the Chargers medical staff should be ashamed of themselves, owing Dielman an apology and a promise to the NFL to never pull a stunt like that again.
Read the San Diego Union Tribune article in it’s entirety here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/oct/27/dielman-out-vs-chiefs/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
