Cardiology in football: What can we do?

Amongst the saddening news surrounding Ugo Ehiogu's death, It seemed appropriate to delve into the increasing amount of heart condition caused deaths within football.

Heart conditions are becoming increasingly common in modern football society. It alarms me to see just how many athletes experience a heart abnormalities before, during or after a performance. These cardiac abnormalities can occur in any athlete regardless of age, size, medical background, gender, race or fitness. In recent years we've seen cases such as Fabrice Muamba, Marc Vivien Foe, Antonio Puerta, Milos Feher and Phil O'Donnell highlight just how sudden cardiac problems can occur.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels.

Specifically in football, most deaths have come about as a result of cardiovascular disease or a congenital heart problem. Most of which we are unaware about. 

Cardiovascular disease - smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, family background and inactivity which leads to strokes, peripheral arterial disease and aortic disease etc... 

Congenital heart problem - means that the heart problem is genetic and has been developed from parents

In the table below, we can see some of the cardiac conditions that caused deaths that have taken the lives of athletes. There often triggered by sharp blows to the chest which as we know, can occur quite often in football. Worrying stuff. 

What is even more worrying is that even with the help of CPR and defibrillation then the fatality rate is still a whopping 65% as opposed to 80% without. We can link this to the notorious case of Fabrice Muamba who's life was saved by the use of a defibrillator after being pronounced "dead" for 78 minutes. Since, that remarkable incident defibrillators have been introduced around the country to give athletes that extra 15% chance of survival should heart related problems arise during a game. 

However, many have often asked as to how such heart problems often go undetected? Everyone gets chest pains at some point or another but most of us are often lackadaisical and careless when it comes to these pains and simply put the issue down to heartburn or indigestion. Many of the athletes such as Marc Vivien Foe believed that they could merely just play through the pain when in fact he put is heart under excruciating amounts of pressure and paid the price. 

I mean, the amount of pressure that our cardiovascular systems are under when it comes to exercise is astonishing. Our heart rate, stroke volume and heart muscles are all put under heavy pressure to perform along with the rest of the body and sometimes you can push the limits of your cardiovascular system just too far. 

Things are improving though, screening is becoming more common within football which is enabling doctors to become more aware of different heart conditions and combat. Although, it's simply not possible to screen every footballer in the game and even those lucky enough to get regularly screened will be alarmed to know that even screening can be deemed as inaccurate and problematic. 

Are there things we can do? Apart from the obvious, eating well, hydrating yourself, exercising regularly and maintaining balanced diets. It should be noted that there are other contributors that can lead to heart problems such as weight, stress, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Some of these factors may well have played a part in the deaths of many athletes. However, these are sportspeople who's diet is heavily monitored, heart rates regularly tracked and work regularly with healthcare professionals to maintain sensational levels of athleticism. With that there comes a certain amount of stress and pressure on footballers hearts. Their boundaries of performance are being constantly being pushed until physical limits are reached.

Well we know that professional clubs and even some semi-professional clubs have the resources to get their players heart screened prior to the start of the season and within some clubs throughout the season. However, other than this then options for limited for detecting such heart conditions although there is constant and evolving research into the subject. Although anyone can be susceptible to heart problems, it is important that people still engage with sport without fear of these things happening even though high profile cases such as Fabrice Muamba put doubt in the minds of everyone. Although constant research is being discovered, there is still a long way to go in the race to reduce heart problems in football.