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Increasing Incidence of Cardiac Arrests in Footballers; A Mere Coincidence or a Cause of Concern?

Syed Muhammad Aqeel Abidi

Footballers have had a history of on-field collapses due to heart conditions and respiratory issues, however in the recent post-COVID world, the frequency of such incidences have increased. Multiple footballers were televised collapsing on the pitch or gasping for air before being taken off. This calls for the need of investigation into the cause of this rise. Many have used this data to blame it on the side-effects of COVID-19 vaccine while others speculate this as a sequalae of COVID-19 itself. There’s a need for synergistic use of multiple medical examinations (Electrocardiogram, Echocardiography, Endomyocardial biopsy, laboratory results, Cardiac MRI, chest X-ray, Exercise tolerance test) to help prevent such incidences. Defibrillators should be present at even youth and amateur levels as their effectiveness is proven. Football governing body needs to establish protocol for health screening rather than only ensuring presence of defibrillators and medical staff.