Young people exercising more than 10 hours a week should be screened for hidden heart problems and all sports coaches should have CPR training, doctors have said following Danish footballer Christian Eriksen’s cardiac scare.
The Inter Milan midfielder stunned a global audience of millions as he collapsed on the field near the left touchline at the end of the first half of Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 clash with Finland on Saturday.
Medics who performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the player were praised for averting tragedy.
While Eriksen recovers in hospital, a former Bayern Munich club doctor now working in Dubai said even fit young people can have undiagnosed but potentially life-threatening heart conditions.
Dr Erik Hohmann, an orthopaedic sports physician at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai, worked with the German football club to screen junior players for undiagnosed health problems.
“Arrhythmia or myocarditis due to a previous infection are the most common reasons for these kinds of incidents in young sportspeople during exercise,” he told The National.
“Thankfully, they are very rare.
“I can only recall 10 or so incidents in the past 20 years and I did not find a single case in the young players I worked with in Germany.
“Every young athlete that aspires to train more than 10 to 20 hours a week should have an annual examination. But with millions of athletes, this is not always financially viable.”
Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/health/christian-eriksen-doctor-says-all-sports-coaches-should-have-cpr-training-1.1240355
