The message that was just football Fans: heart problems in Sami Khedira! Three days and a Mini-SURGERY later, he is back home and (almost) ready for the next use. A cardiologist explains what had the 31-Year-old exactly how he was treated, and why his heart is completely healthy.
Anyone who plays at a top club like Juventus Turin football, you must be fit as a fiddle. Midfielder Sami Khedira it is. Yet last Friday, the 31-Year-old in a-point game of the Italian Serie A on the square. But at Training on Tuesday, the heart of the former German national team player began to race suddenly. It is a catheter examination, and then a small intervention at the Turin heart specialists Fiorenzo Gaita followed.
What was going on, from the athletes as from the picture book all of a sudden a Patient was not able to trust his heart?
Alarming: only 31 years old, a professional football player and the heart is racing
Heart rhythm disorder was the first diagnosis. An irregular heartbeat is one of the most common complaints of our life engine. Sami Khediras Problem, however, was the widespread atrial fibrillation, of the 1.8 million people in Germany are affected.
The correct diagnosis posted Khedira, even in a first English language word message: “arrhythmogenic atrial focus”. “This term has told him sure to be a cardiologist,” says Ellen Hoffman, chief doctor of the clinic for cardiology at the Munich clinic Bogenhausen. “This is a relatively rare, hereditary disorder of cardiac rhythm that is not life-threatening.”
The Sport was innocent of Sami Khediras heart rhythm disorder
While atrial fibrillation is chaotic electrical impulses at the junction of the pulmonary vein to the left heart chamber to be fired, to the focus-rhythm disturbance in the right atrium. In this case, the heartbeat, it’s beating but not disorganized and wild. The arrhythmias can be triggered by a false alarm of cells, the focus. “You can think of this as a spark plug, which fires all of a sudden. It turns this point, the end of the rhythm disturbance,“ explains the expert for heart – catheter examinations and interventions.
In the case of the atrial-rhythm disturbance-performance sports plays high, as Sami Khedira runs, no role. He is, however, a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. The heart doctor Barbara Richartz, which is the center for outpatient cardiology Munich-Bogenhausen, directs, explains: “high performance sport is an important risk factor for atrial fibrillation. The athletes have compared to normal mortals is the five times the risk.“ Blame it on the constant extreme strain on the heart and the associated stretching of the Atria. They SAG and are then prone to chaotic electrical impulses that make the heart race.
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Rhythm disturbances are eliminated for the catheter Ablation
Normally, a first-time rhythm disorder such as in the case of Khedira would be treated first with medication, such as beta-blockers. “For athletes that doesn’t work,” says Ellen Hoffman. “The heartbeat would slow down. You could not go up to the limit of their performance.“ The Ablation, and the Turin-mate Khedira chose, so have been just right.
With a minimally invasive catheter-Ablation of the offending heart muscle be atrophied cells with heat or cold. This happens after an electrophysiological investigation. “It is triggered via the catheter, a rhythm disturbance to see on the Monitor, where exactly is the fail brilliant focus. There will then be desolate.“
From the groin through the vein directly to the heart
The Instrument is pushed by an incision in the Groin via a catheter through a vein into the heart. A General anesthesia is not necessary. Because: “On the inside of blood vessels no nerve. The Patient feels nothing,“ says Barbara Richartz.
Much longer than 30 minutes, the Ablation will not take a lie for an experienced electro physiologist, cardiology specialists for these interventions mean.
Sami Khedira to emergence after a break of about a month’s time again for the Italian champion. This is quite possible, writes the cardiology-Professor Ellen Hoffmann: “Khedira had a small electrical Problem, but he has a healthy heart.”
Once the small incision is healed in the bar is complete, you can train the footballer again, says heart expert. Maybe he takes a while, a low-dose Aspirin. And he is safely monitored by the Juve doctors thoroughly, such as with exercise stress and Holter ECGs. “But the Ablation is a curative measure,” says the expert, Ellen Hoffmann, “the rhythm disturbances are likely to occur again.”