"Research done by The Exposé revealed that deaths of professional football or soccer players due to cardiovascular issues doubled every three months in 2021, with the number of footballers who “died suddenly” in December 2021 equalling the annual average over the previous 12 years. In all, deaths among professional football players in 2021 were four times the average rate recorded between 2009 and 2020.
The alarming increase in cardiac arrest in athletes has caused great concern among cardiologists, physicians, doctors and scientists around the world. Family physician and former Minnesota State Senator Dr. Scott Jensen explained why so many are concerned in a recent video. His video is very informative as he explained in simple terms, using a model of the heart, what the life-threatening heart conditions are and which part of the heart is malfunctioning to cause them.
There are three main mechanisms which can cause heart function to fail. One is due to blockage or obstruction in the arteries and veins to/from the heart. Dr. Jensen refers to the arteries and veins anecdotally as the heart’s “plumbing.” The second is cardiomyopathy, a disease or damage to the heart muscle. And the third is a malfunction of the heart’s electrical system embedded in the heart. What is unusual and very concerning is that the increase in sudden deaths in fit and healthy young people is due to malfunction of the heart’s electrical system. It is often triggered by an inflammatory condition, such as myocarditis."
