Former NFL Doctor Dr. David Chao gives his thoughts on Curtis Samuel's heart

[Thama]

5 hours ago, WarHeel said:

I strongly disagree. They teach us how to read EKGs in PT school. I’ve read through a 400 page text book for one exam on EKGs so I doubt an MD would see much less. Just because he specializes in ortho doesn’t mean he isn’t knowledgeable on the subject.

There's a large difference between what a surgeon would see on an EKG (on the rare occasion when they bother to do more than look at the read at the top of the page) and what an experienced internist or cardiologist would see. What you were taught in PT school (like what we are taught in med school) barely qualifies you to look at one like a surgeon. 

What is valuable about Dr Chao's statement is insight into the way NFL teams usually handle this issue. It is apparently seen regularly enough and recoveries are quick enough that it isn't routinely mentioned to the press. It also isn't routinely seen as an extra risk to a professional athlete, which seems intuitive but is nice to have confirmed.

[WarHeel]

1 minute ago, Thama said:

There's a large difference between what a surgeon would see on an EKG (on the rare occasion when they bother to do more than look at the read at the top of the page) and what an experienced internist or cardiologist would see. What you were taught in PT school (like what we are taught in med school) barely qualifies you to look at one like a surgeon. 

What is valuable about Dr Chao's statement is insight into the way NFL teams usually handle this issue. It is apparently seen regularly enough and recoveries are quick enough that it isn't routinely mentioned to the press. It also isn't routinely seen as an extra risk to a professional athlete, which seems intuitive but is nice to have confirmed.

I completely agree with your sentiments but do believe this is a routine thing that many live with, athletes included and there’s nothing wrong with a physician/clinician giving his thoughts on the matter in a broad manner as he’s been educated on it. Huge difference in this “procedure” compared to open heart surgery which is probably what some folks automatically assume when they see “heart” and “procedure” in the same sentence.

[OHYO]

So Curtis was pushed into a breaker panel by a plumber that an electrician left the cover off and it caused his heart problem?  Dang talk about bad luck!

[mc52beast]

I have a-fib, had the same procedure done. Unfortunately there are a lot of cases(mine included) where the procedure doesn’t work. 

And it can be life-threatening, blood clots are a real possibility when you go into a-fib, wondering if Curtis will have to be on blood thinners.

[Saca312]

7 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

I agree with you, but I have experience with plumbers and electricians. There's often alot of crossover between those two. Plumbers pick up alot of electrical knowledge and vice versa. 

That said, I'm not sure if that applies to orthopedists and cardiologists or not lol

Most medical students would at the least be able to understand how an EKG works and various procedures involving the heart. Of course, it’s not as deep in knowledge as say a cardiologists, but stuff like this an orthopedic surgeon would most certainly know. Reminder 4 years of medical school covers a lot of stuff everywhere in the medical field and residency is where such medical personnel are specialized.

[Butterflyj30]

If True this is good news

[GRWatcher]

As a result of open heart surgery, I have a-fib with no symptoms and an irregular heartbeat (skips) that I can occasionally feel. I am on meds for it and will be for the rest of my life. I accept that but it has changed everything. I'm glad Samuel has gotten his heartbeat fixed. Too many athletes have died suddenly from heart problems they didn't know they had. I wish him nothing but the best with a positive outcome.

[TheSpecialJuan]

ugh