‘Kun’ Agüero suffered a heart problem: what is an arrhythmia and how does it affect elite athletes?

Sergio Agüero, Barça forward, had to be substituted in the first half against Alavés after noticing chest discomfort and the medical tests to which he was subjected would have determined that he suffered an arrhythmia, a heart problem that would have already happened in a previous chapter of his sports career.

As stated in the medical encyclopedia, an arrhythmia is a heart rate or heart rhythm disorder. It can occur when the heart beats too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia) or irregularly and may be a sign of other heart problems. Sports world from Spain.

The most common arrhythmia in the general population is atrial fibrillation, when an individual has episodes of irregular heart rhythm for hours and experiences palpitations in the thoracic area. In recent years there has been an increase in cases of this type of arrhythmia with the practice of endurance sports individually with prolonged training.

The first test to detect arrhythmias is an EKG and there are also cardiac monitoring devices to identify what the problem is as a Holter, a machine that records heart rhythms continuously for 24 hours. In addition, there are also complementary tests such as the stress test to see in detail the heart rate of the patient while he is subjected to a physical demand.

On If an individual suffers from arrhythmias, it is recommended that they exercise of moderate intensity to avoid sedentary lifestyle and other physical problems, but in the In the case of high-level athletes, a cardiological check-up must be carried out to rule out any other type of pathology and to be able to continue with sports practice.

In addition, these cardiac events will have to be monitored from time to time to check that everything is under control.

Previous with LaMarcus Aldridge

Unless doctors point to a serious pathology, the When Agüero will be able to continue his soccer career and has the case of LaMarcus Aldridge, player of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, as a recent reference.

Aldridge had to retire in the middle of last season due to an episode of arrhythmias, but the veteran player has returned this season to the tracks and performing at a good level. (D)