- Jul 23, 2013
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If I’m not mistaken, Blind’s ICD actually triggered during a match a year or two ago.Good post.
Just to clarify that in the UK, if you’ve survived a cardiac arrest without an obvious reversible cause (e.g. a heart attack from a blocked coronary artery or a very abnormal salt in your blood - usually potassium and a variety of other common causes), you get an ICD.
Given his happened out of the blue and we are not privvy to his medical history, he will most likely have an ICD for life.
There is a risk of his ICD firing but this is unpredictable and dependent on what may have contributed to his cardiac arrest in the first instance.
Some professional athletes are advised they simply have to stop playing by elite sports as it is cardiac stress that contributes to the risk of further cardiac arrest, but that seems unlikely as he’s been given the all clear to pursue a career. Daley Blind has an ICD inserted for a diagnosis of myocarditis and so shows you can still play at the highest level with a defibrillator and I hope Eriksen can do the same whether that’s with us or elsewhere.
Finally, being shocked by an ICD is no small thing. It can be extremely painful and can occasionally still lead to a loss of consciousness albeit transiently. The ICD will however try other things before defaulting to an actual shock to try and restore the heart’s normal rhythm if possible.
If Conte wants him and our medical team are satisfied, I would love to see him back although I am dubious as to whether he could reach his former heights again.