Liverpool FC Forum

My best mate at school who was one fittest players at my football club died when he went for a run at age of 21 back in 1988. Besides shock and grief of losing a friend you really struggle to come to terms with the way it happened at such a young age. It certainly haunted me for many years and events like this are reminder on how precious and fleeting life is.

LFC2007 wrote:Kharhaz, mate, you might also remember the Motherwell captain Phil O'donell, Besian Idrizaj and Dani Jarque, all who died to the best of my knowledge because of heart conditions. There was also that fella who played for Bolton years ago, another African player, who retired early because of a heart problem, as well as Lilian Thuram I believe. Statistically, I'm sure the sum of such cases represents a tiny proportion of the general population (though proportionally higher in elite athletes) but it's no less shocking when you consider that these guys are highly tuned athletes who you presume have been through rigorous screening programmes.

An ECG is one such screening method and a standard part of a medical; I've had one myself, but at the elite level you would think they'd go further and give them an echocardiogram.That's supposed to be a much surer way of detecting such problems, yet still we see young, ostensibly healthy athletes die suddenly of heart conditions. And not just footballers or athletes, but people in general.

I hope to god Muamba pulls through this and that more awareness is generated for the need for effective screening.

Don't forget Puerta of Seville died at the age of 22 because of his heart condition. The thing is there are things that the scan won't pick up, human body is very unpredictable you can be a healthy but the next day something happens that shocks doctors and researchers. Muamba might have done a heart scan and looked ok but his body said otherwise. I'm not shocked that he is critically ill now, the doctors want to make sure he doesn't go into another cardiac arrest, so the next 24 hours is very crucial!

terrible news. it looked like he was having a seizure on the pitch?
hopefully he pulls through. YNWA.

Its not just football this has happend with, running and American football have also had problems over the years. with american football its picked up a lot at school age.
what makes this case strange is that the guy have lived in the UK since he was 6 years old and its has never been picked up and Bolton run tests on all there players evey few weeks (something left over from fat sams time).
Its very sad, we had a Ref die during a local game here a few years ago.


Edit, i was just looking up the link about the ref that died in my local game but i am shocked by how many this has happend to. think theres about 10 in the last few years that i can see and i only spent a few mins looking at it.

LFC2007 wrote:Kharhaz, mate, you might also remember the Motherwell captain Phil O'donell, Besian Idrizaj and Dani Jarque, all who died to the best of my knowledge because of heart conditions. There was also that fella who played for Bolton years ago, another African player, who retired early because of a heart problem, as well as Lilian Thuram I believe. Statistically, I'm sure the sum of such cases represents a tiny proportion of the general population (though proportionally higher in elite athletes) but it's no less shocking when you consider that these guys are highly tuned athletes who you presume have been through rigorous screening programmes.

An ECG is one such screening method and a standard part of a medical; I've had one myself, but at the elite level you would think they'd go further and give them an echocardiogram.That's supposed to be a much surer way of detecting such problems, yet still we see young, ostensibly healthy athletes die suddenly of heart conditions. And not just footballers or athletes, but people in general.

I hope to god Muamba pulls through this and that more awareness is generated for the need for effective screening.

Your right all I could remember was mostly african players but how could I have forgotten poor Besian. I have found a List of association footballers who died while playing on wikipedia of so many unfortunate players, I didnt realise there were so many.

Kharhaz wrote:
Your right all I could remember was mostly african players but how could I have forgotten poor Besian. I have found a List of association footballers who died while playing on wikipedia of so many unfortunate players, I didnt realise there were so many.

The heart is a weird and wonderful piece of human engineering, fit and healthy people's hearts can give way just as much as people who smoke, drink too much and eat foods high in salt, trans fats and saturates or someone who rarely exercises.

I don't think enough research has gone into understanding the heart and its functions at the moment.

Mike Reid aka Frank Butcher died of a heart attack and two weeks before he had received a full medical examination which stated that he was healthy and there were no visible signs of ill health.

I reckon too much exercise, too many games are just as detrimental to the heart as smoking, drinking and eating foods with high salt and fat contents, but what do I know?

Boxscarf wrote:I reckon too much exercise, too many games are just as detrimental to the heart as smoking, drinking and eating foods with high salt and fat contents, but what do I know?

Highly doubt that. If anything it's probably an abnormality that has till now remained dormant.

tubby wrote:
Highly doubt that. If anything it's probably an abnormality that has till now remained dormant.

I believe it's a distinct possibility that you can overwork your heart muscle through cardiovascular exercise.

These footballers will be medically examined to the hilt on a regular basis, what's the chances of a heart problem going unnoticed? Also heart problems in football seem to be becoming more and more frequent.

Maybe the pace of the game affects some footballers heart muscle more than others? Who knows.

Worth getting the message across.
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Premiership footballer Fabrice Muamba's collapse during a game yesterday highlights the cardiac risks for young people, a heart charity has warned.

The shock caused by the player's sudden collapse and fight for life was underlined by his seemingly healthy condition as a young professional athlete.

Dr Steve Cox, director of screening at the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry), said that sport can significantly increase the risk of a cardiac incident if a person has an underlying condition.

He said: "Cry wants all young people to be aware of the importance of cardiac screening and to have the opportunity to be tested.

"We already provide screening services for a number of professional sporting bodies, including the English Institute of Sport, the RFU, RFL, LTA and a number of Football Association teams including Manchester City."

He added: "One in every 300 of the young people that Cry tests will be identified with a potentially life-threatening condition.

"Every week in the UK, 12 apparently fit and healthy young people under the age of 35 die from undiagnosed cardiac conditions.

The charity said that 80% of apparently healthy 14- to 35-year-olds who die from cardiac issues will have shown no previous sign of heart defects.

Speaking on Sky News, Robert Hall, the Chief Executive of charity The Cardiomyopathy Association, said that cardiac conditions and symptoms could vary for each individual and were associated with sudden death syndrome.

"Situations like this are not just associated with exercise, they can happen while people are at rest."

Mitchell Cole, a former professional footballer for West Ham, who had to retire last year due to a heart condition, saw Muamba's collapse while watching the Spurs-Bolton game with friends.

Mr Cole said: "I was in shock just watching it. It's really distressing, that could have happened to me.

"I been one of the really lucky ones, I've come out of the sport and I'm still okay at the minute and hopefully Fabrice will be the same."

In 1995 John Marshall, a 16-year-old footballer from Lancashire, died the day before he was due to sign for Everton football club.

His sister Hayley Marshall said: "He was classed as one of the fittest in the country, and he was an elite athlete.

"He passed away suddenly and it came as a big shock to us all because he was so fit."

In June 2003, Cameroon footballer Marc-Vivien Foe died after collapsing with a heart attack during an international match in France.

The 28-year-old was treated on the pitch before being stretchered off and receiving further treatment, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and extra oxygen.

Medical staff tried to restart his heart for 45 minutes but without success.

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16191362

laza wrote:My best mate at school who was one fittest players at my football club died when he went for a run at age of 21 back in 1988. Besides shock and grief of losing a friend you really struggle to come to terms with the way it happened at such a young age. It certainly haunted me for many years and events like this are reminder on how precious and fleeting life is.

Ditto, I lost my best pal at 18. As you say, life is delicate. Don't waste a day.

I hope Muamba pulls through this, my thoughts go to him and his family.

Walk on Muamba.

he is in the best hospital, I rasied money for the london chest (buy a brick) after my dad had a triple heart bypass there in 87.

No news is good news I hope.

some good news

Fabrice Muamba shows 'small signs of improvement'
Fabrice Muamba's heart condition is "showing small signs of improvement" following his cardiac arrest.

A Bolton statement said:  "His heart is now beating without the help of medication and he is also moving his arms and legs.

"However, his long-term prognosis will remain unclear for some time.

"He is still critically ill and will continue to be closely monitored and treated by staff in The London Chest Hospital's intensive care unit."

The midfielder, 23, has been at the hospital's heart attack centre after suffering the cardiac arrest during Saturday's FA Cup tie at Tottenham.   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17419654

excellent stuff, its a long term recovery and I don't think he will play football again, but f*ck that it's his health we should worry about, lets hope he recovers to be with his family