Fabrice Muamba collapses on pitch during FA Cup match

[Raymond Lin]

they are on topic, it's directly related to what happened, people think professional footballers = fittest people on the planet, some of them are yes but not all of them, probably fitter than armchair fans who sit at home all day and drink lager eating pies, but compare them to other athletes and they are nowhere near the pinnacle of fitness.

people also think fitness = they cannot die young, they can, recently a bodybuilder nicknamed "zyzz" died in his early 20's yet just look at his physique (google him), this was due to a heart defect.



they probably did happen, just weren't publicised as much as they are now, you can be extremely fit, but no amount of fitness is going to stop a defect in the bodies most important part from killing you.

phil o'donnell died a while back too, from a cardiac arrest iirc whilst on the pitch.

this isn't a special case, it has happened before, extremely sad, but things like this do happen in life.

i hope he makes a full recovery and if any defect is found, their is hope of fixing or helping it so he can play again. but people with major heart problems shouldn't really put them under extra stress regularly for obvious reasons, but their are exercises they can do to help them and sometimes even cure problems, such as high blood pressure, etc.

For all you know, he could be a model athlete who never drank in his life and this was due to an undiagnosed heart defect that he was born with.

Please stop guessing and take this off topic.

 

[J-FRO]

I don't go to many games a season, maybe 3 or 4, but this was without a doubt the most unusual. I can't even explain the feeling around the stadium as everyone waited to find out what on earth was going on. The whole situation was just quite shocking. There were lots of kids there too as it was an FA cup match. Very strange feeling.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Wasn't it rumoured that he was on Steroids though, which could have led to his heart problems? I don't know enough about him to back up these claims and if he never used them he worked extremely hard but steroids are known to cause heart problems which was the cause of his death.

steroids can cause heart problems if abused, but this guy knew exactly how to use them and he did so and in those circumstances steroids are actually safer than alcohol and smoking for instance. it was confirmed by an autopsy that it was a heart defect that killed him. so nothing to do with the steroids at all.

steroids are used by doctors everyday all over the world, they are not the evil uneducated people think they are.

For all you know, he could be a model athlete who never drank in his life and this was due to an undiagnosed heart defect that he was born with.

Please stop guessing and take this off topic.

i think you have misread my posts, that is exactly what im saying, it's most likely a heart defect and nothing to do with fitness.

i'm just saying footballers are not the pinnacle of fitness some would believe they are. yes some of them may be, but football is not a sport which heavily relies on pure fitness, unlike other sports. which is what a lot of people on here think. in football talent > fitness, but talent combined with fitness is obviously a lot better which is why some players who may not be as talented but are fitter can play better.

as it has been said above by someone they cannot understand how someone deemed to be fit are having heart attacks, etc.

im just saying some footballers are not miracles of fitness, in fact some of them drink and smoke, it's all the other people disagreeing with that taking it off topic.

 

[No1newts]

Listening to a guy on 5Live now talking about how is 20 odd year old son died in his sleep because of a cardiac heart condition that hadn't been known about, made me instantly think of Greenlizard0.

I lost a good friend to this 6 years, she was only 21.

 

[mmj_uk]

I was saying to someone last night if it's some kind of underlying heart condition then as bad as it sounds it could not have happened at a better time, if he'd had an attack anywhere else it would have been 5-10mins before he had gotten any medical attention and probably too late to save him, the fact that it happened out on the pitch might have saved his life in the long run.

 

[Nate75]

I was saying to someone last night if it's some kind of underlying heart condition then as bad as it sounds it could not have happened at a better time, if he'd had an attack anywhere else it would have been 5-10mins before he had gotten any medical attention and probably too late to save him, the fact that it happened out on the pitch might have saved his life in the long run.

Absolutely right.

In an odd way, he was VERY lucky.

 

[Cosimo]

My thoughts are with Fabrice his family and friends and I’m praying for a speedy recovery.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I was saying to someone last night if it's some kind of underlying heart condition then as bad as it sounds it could not have happened at a better time, if he'd had an attack anywhere else it would have been 5-10mins before he had gotten any medical attention and probably too late to save him, the fact that it happened out on the pitch might have saved his life in the long run.

i was on a first aid course with a fireman present and he says the chances of survival if a defib has to be used are usually pretty slim, but the fact they managed to get it to him in such a quick time, probably made a world of difference.

"Time Interval and Defibrillation Success
Since the AHA Guidelines 2000 we have been taught that for every minute that passes between collapse and defibrillation, survival rates from witnessed VF sudden cardiac arrest decrease 7% to 10%. When bystander CPR is provided, the decrease in survival rates is more gradual and averages 3% to 4 % per minute."

he was extremely lucky indeed

 

[spudbynight]

My parents watched football through the 60s 70s and 80s and having asked them they had never seen a Foe, O'Donnell type situation reported.

What has happened that means i can quote players dying on the pitch?

Of course i dont include Muamba in this and God lets hope he pulls through but this "heart defect" seems to be a catch-all recently yet it didnt happen years ago. I wonder why that is?

Two things that pop into my mind as possibilities.

1 : This is something which is more likely in black footballers? There were certainly a lot less back in the 60s and 70s.
2 : Modern footballer are far more physically active then they were in the past. Yes, they are fitter but they are asked to run an awful lot more than players in the past.

 

[Cemetery]

Was at the game yesterday & that was probably the most uncomfortable thing I have witnessed. Hope he gets through this ok but I have to say in contrast to what is said about football fans etc, the crowd were fantastic, both sets of fans chanting & clapping his name & then when the match was abandoned leaving without incident or complaint.

 

[spudbynight]

Life and death is more important than football.



Well done to both sets of fans.

 

[[TW]Sponge]

Life and death is more important than football.



Well done to both sets of fans.

This. Football doesn't matter in these situations. It's one of the rare times when all football fans come together.

 

[J-FRO]

Was at the game yesterday & that was probably the most uncomfortable thing I have witnessed. Hope he gets through this ok but I have to say in contrast to what is said about football fans etc, the crowd were fantastic, both sets of fans chanting & clapping his name & then when the match was abandoned leaving without incident or complaint.

I was in the north stands and when we were leaving we saw St John's escorting some other guy down a staff stairwell. Obviously he wasn't in a critical condition, but because of the timing of it I couldn't help but think that the whole situation maybe affected this chap worse than others.

 

[Metalface Mark]

Two things that pop into my mind as possibilities.

1 : This is something which is more likely in black footballers? There were certainly a lot less back in the 60s and 70s.
2 : Modern footballer are far more physically active then they were in the past. Yes, they are fitter but they are asked to run an awful lot more than players in the past.

There is far more people playing now than the 60s and 70s, it happens more now for that reason.

 

[placeholder]

There is far more people playing now than the 60s and 70s, it happens more now for that reason.

See im not so sure about that. There may be more players now but i would still expect there to be at least a couple of reasonably high profile players dying like this around the world in the 70s for example. Basically what im asking is do you think its possible that there is something in what we are asking our players to do now that make this more likely to happen or that bring these underlying conditions to the surface?

 

[Psycho Sonny]

See im not so sure about that. There may be more players now but i would still expect there to be at least a couple of reasonably high profile players dying like this around the world in the 70s for example. Basically what im asking is do you think its possible that there is something in what we are asking our players to do now that make this more likely to happen or that bring these underlying conditions to the surface?

people are pushed a lot harder nowadays not just in football but in every athletic sport, they also do proper training several times a week, whereas before i bet it was all done the way they thought at the time was correct, but probably incorrect now for today's standards.

 

[placeholder]

people are pushed a lot harder nowadays not just in football but in every athletic sport, they also do proper training several times a week, whereas before i bet it was all done the way they thought at the time was correct, but probably incorrect now for today's standards.

Agreed. Is it more prevelant in football than other sports? Basically im just wondering aloud what causes it to come to the surface. Athletes push their body to the limit. Boxers train at an incredibly intense level for shorter bursts and have inactivity. I wonder if there is something about the type of training and performance in football that has now made this more commonplace? As i say, just wondering aloud really.

 

[AGD]

Agreed. Is it more prevelant in football than other sports? Basically im just wondering aloud what causes it to come to the surface. Athletes push their body to the limit. Boxers train at an incredibly intense level for shorter bursts and have inactivity. I wonder if there is something about the type of training and performance in football that has now made this more commonplace? As i say, just wondering aloud really.

There are a lot more footballers than boxers. And we've only seen it in a few footballers. Not surprising that it hasn't been seen in boxing.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Boxers train at an incredibly intense level for shorter bursts and have inactivity.

lolwut?

boxers are pushed much harder than footballer's

footballers run for 5-15 second bursts with huge gaps of inactivity, but a boxer literally has to work for a full 3 minutes at a time.

MMA fighters are pushed far harder also.

 

[Azza]

Latest update from Bolton.

Having a read it does seem his heart stopped from the time he was on the ground until he got into the hospital, so let's hope brain damage is at a minimal or nothing at all.

Fabrice Muamba remains in a critical condition in intensive care in the Heart Attack Centre at The London Chest Hospital.

Fabrice was admitted to the hospital yesterday evening after collapsing at White Hart Lane, where he sustained a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Fabrice received prolonged resuscitation at the ground and on route to The London Chest Hospital, where his heart eventually started working.

As is normal medical practice, Fabrice remains anaesthetised in intensive care and will be for at least 24 hours.

His condition continues to be closely monitored by the cardiac specialists at the hospital.

Bolton Wanderers Manager Owen Coyle said: "Fabrice's family have asked me to pass on their thanks for the many, many kind messages of support from not only Bolton fans but also fans from clubs across the country and abroad.

"All our thoughts and prayers are for Fabrice and his family. The family would also like to thank the media for respecting their privacy at this time."

No further updates are planned at this time.