Thursday, August 13, 2009

Soccer sportsmen & high risk heart problems!


It is a shocking news that soccer captain Daniel Jarque of Espanyol died on Sunday due to a heart attack when talking to his girl friend on telephone while on a tour in Italy. Every sports lover is reminded of the sad end of soccer celebrities like Antonio Puerta and Cristiano Junior due to cardiac arrest under similar circumstances.

Generally foot ball players run the risk of contracting heart attacks as an occupational hazard while chesting the ball with a tremendous momentum.

According to the specialists the cause of heart attack in sportsmen is due to erratic and uncontrolled food habits, excessive alcoholic drinks, abnormal stress, elaborate long hours of strenuous training and playing at high altitudes.

Doctors are also of the opinion that thickening of the heart muscle without any specific reason, genetic heart defect and electrical abnormalities of the heart are the common disorders culminating into cardiac arrest in athletes.

By nature, while women are blessed with high oestrogen level which protects the body, men have comparatively lower oestrogen level in their body.

Doctors observe that sportsmen in general tend to ignore symptoms of disease from the beginning and do not seek medical consultation / assistance even if the injury is severe presumably due to fear of losing their chance in the running sports events and the resultant loss of huge income.

Periodical routine medical checks and intensive medical care at the time of serious injuries are the most effective methods to prevent disasters in the life of the sportsmen.

Considering the nature of injuries in the game of soccer, a question that arises in our mind - why not provide some safety gear to protect the vital parts such as heart, head,etc., to the soccer sportsmen as in the case of the game of cricket?

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