In this expert insight edition of the Premier Injuries podcast, we talk with Dr Sadi Raza, an award-winning Cardiologist, on what’s next for Christian Eriksen following his cardiac arrest.
On Saturday, June 12, at 5:40 pm BST, the world watched in horror as Christian Eriksen fell to the floor and lay motionless face down at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
It was Denmark’s opening fixture of the delayed UEFA 2020 European Championships. Hopes were high; the Danes arrived at the tournament having suffered just one defeat in twelve, to Belgium, who topped the FIFA World Rankings. Following a stellar first season in Italy with Inter Milan, all eyes were on Christian Eriksen to carry the rød-hvide out of Group B.
But with barely 40 minutes of the first half gone, the world of football stood aghast as medical teams scrambled to save the life of Christian Eriksen.
To tell us more about the incident and the potential implications, both for short and in the long term, we spoke to Dr Sadi Raza, an award-winning Cardiologist, on the most important issue in football: Christian Eriksen and his health.
Issues covered include
- What is Ventricular Tachycardia (VT)? And why, despite a battery of screening tests throughout his top-flight career, did Eriksen suffer an abnormal heartbeat which proceeded his cardiac arrest?
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocol and how on-field medical professionals approached the incident.
- Survival rate: How the quick response of first aiders – CPR and defibrillation – helped save the life of Eriksen.
- Was Christian Eriksen playing with an underlying condition?
- What doctors will be looking for to help them understand what caused his arrhythmia.
- Cardiovascular assessment.
- Structural heart abnormalities
- Cardiomyopathy
- Born with a congenital heart anomaly
- Does his family have a history of sudden cardiac arrest?
- Channelopathy
- Blockage: ischemia
- Electrolyte imbalances
- What next: secondary prevention, and when can we expect Christian to be released from the hospital.
- Comparisons with Fabrice Muamba.
- Why certain conditions will not be picked up by traditional screening.
- Looking for signs and symptoms in those that play competitive sports: those with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death.
The discussion topic also highlights what should happen in the future of sports before ending with recommendations on looking for signs in yourself and your loved ones—plus steps to help in a similar situation.
If you would like to find out more, then please follow these valuable links as provided by Dr Raza:
