USC All-American Bronny James collapsed on the court Monday and had a cardiac arrest. He was taken to the hospital and is now in stable condition and no longer in the ICU. Statement: pic.twitter.com/5z9F2qAWP0

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2023

I know we can't scan every kid all the time, but you'd think this particular kid would be.

YokelRidesAgain said:

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Sounds like the USC training staff did an awesome job saving this young man's life.

Concerned about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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What test can preemptively catch that? CAT scan? MRI? I believe that's what killed Hank Gathers.

NoahAg said:

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YokelRidesAgain said:

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Sounds like the USC training staff did an awesome job saving this young man's life.

Concerned about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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What test can preemptively catch that? CAT scan? MRI? I believe that's what killed Hank Gathers.

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Echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart).

Shouldn't this be a standard screening process before the athletes begin at these schools? Any reason not to?

aggiederelict said:

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Shouldn't this be a standard screening process before the athletes begin at these schools? Any reason not to?

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You would think so, considering how much money these schools have.

aggiederelict said:

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Shouldn't this be a standard screening process before the athletes begin at these schools? Any reason not to?

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It's not a recommended routine screening at this point, although some cardiologists think it should be.

As such, insurance probably wouldn't cover it, which would mean the studies needed to be done in house. Which would require contracting with a cardiologist as a consultant, etc.

Is this something permanent that means he can't play basketball again?

OldArmy71 said:

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Is this something permanent that means he can't play basketball again?

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Depends on the cause. Some cardiac arrhythmias can be cured with an ablation. Something structural, like hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy would (should) be career ending.

If they can't find a cause at all, conceivably they could put in an internal defibrillator and let him return to play (like the Danish soccer player who collapsed a couple of years ago).

Thank you. Scary stuff.

OldArmy71 said:

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Is this something permanent that means he can't play basketball again?

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I mentioned before but this is what killed Hank Gathers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers
Tragic story but it seems it may have been preventable. He collapsed once, they diagnosed him, and put him on medication. He sat out a couple of weeks but didn't like how the drug made him feel. They reduced his dosage, and supposedly he didn't take it on game days when he returned.

Celtics' Reggie Lewis also died of it.

NoahAg said:

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OldArmy71 said:

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Is this something permanent that means he can't play basketball again?

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I mentioned before but this is what killed Hank Gathers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers
Tragic story but it seems it may have been preventable. He collapsed once, they diagnosed him, and put him on medication. He sat out a couple of weeks but didn't like how the drug made him feel. They reduced his dosage, and supposedly he didn't take it on game days when he returned.

Celtics' Reggie Lewis also died of it.

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The Lewis story was particularly awful in that he went to multiple doctors, all of whom told him that that he was risking his life by continuing to play basketball. He finally found one who told him it was all right, and he died during a pickup game a few weeks later.

Interestingly Evander Holyfield was also told to retire for a heart condition. Holyfield later claimed to have been healed by, of all people, Benny Hinn, and fought on for many years. Holyfield's thing may just have been all the HGH and steroids he was taking at the time.

NoahAg said:

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OldArmy71 said:

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Is this something permanent that means he can't play basketball again?

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I mentioned before but this is what killed Hank Gathers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers
Tragic story but it seems it may have been preventable. He collapsed once, they diagnosed him, and put him on medication. He sat out a couple of weeks but didn't like how the drug made him feel. They reduced his dosage, and supposedly he didn't take it on game days when he returned.

Celtics' Reggie Lewis also died of it.

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Pistol Pete, too

Guitarsoup said:

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Pistol Pete, too

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Maravich had anomalous coronary arteries, not HOCM. Similar risk of sudden cardiac death but a totally separate problem.

I had a distant cousin die of the same thing as Maravich. Active duty Air Force officer, got p.o.ed at a call in a college football game, hopped up to yell at the TV and bam, game over.

Scary stuff, indeed.

Henry Abbott's True Hoop newsletter just got sent out a few minutes ago and was a good read in doping/sudden cardiac events in basketball and thr NBA. It's a good read.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/38260006/bronny-james-cardiac-arrest-caused-congenital-heart-defect