Christian Eriksen: What’s happened since the footballer’s shocking collapse?
Sports fans all over the world held their breaths when Danish footballer Christian Eriksen went into cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match between Denmark & Finland on June 12th.
The Danish midfielder collapsed in the field shortly before the end of the first half of the game, requiring CPR to be performed before being sent to a hospital for further examination. That left his fans ― as well as all soccer fans ― holding their breaths while waiting to find out if Christian would survive the heart problems or if he would pass away.
Fortunately, to fans’ joy, Christian Eriksen survived, recovered, and is now out of the hospital. However, the tests revealed that Eriksen has a heart condition and that he will have to have a device implanted in his body to keep his heart beating the way it should be. What kind of device is it, you may be asking? We have the answer for that.
“Heart starter” installed
After Christian Eriksen recovered from his cardiac arrest in the hospital, the doctors who treated him decided to implant a device that corrects his heartbeat every time danger is detected. The footballer accepted the recommended treatment, as the Danish national team doctor told media outlets.
The device, known as ICD, sends electrical signals every time the heart rates go into a perilous pattern, triggering shocks that stimulate the heart to keep its normal rhythm. As a result, it works as a defibrillator, with the advantage of being installed inside a person’s body rather than an external resuscitation device. In extreme situations, the ICD acts instantly, avoiding more extreme measures.
However, after Christian Eriksen’s field collapse, a growing movement for footballers is gaining even more ground, as the incident highlighted a common problem on the field.
Defibrillators should be more accessible
In the United Kingdom, a petition is going around asking soccer organizers to increase access to defibrillators for players on the field. British media outlets report that a man named Astley Mulholland started the movement, inspired by Christian and his own brother Kyle, who also went through cardiac arrest, but who didn’t have the same fate as the Danish player. Kyle died in 2005 of heart problems right after playing soccer.
At the same time, more research is being done on the effects of the rapid response with defibrillators to cardiac problems. Results have shown that administering defibrillation procedures within three to five minutes of collapse can increase survival rates as high as 70%.
Currently, the petition has over 60,000 signatures and has been endorsed by other famous footballers, such as Jesse Lingard and Fabrice Muamba, who also went into cardiac arrest while playing in 2012. Muamba then retired due to the effects of the heart procedures.
Christian Eriksen is recovering, privacy recommended
After the incident and the ICD implant, Christian Eriksen is in recovery from the heart problem that caused his collapse on June 12th. Right after updating his fans and the general public, the Danish Football Association (DBU) stated on social media to “encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy the following time”.
In a tweet posted on June 15th, Christian Eriksen thanked his fans all over the world for their best wishes & support. And there will be a little tribute on Denmark’s second match against Belgium: Players will kick the ball out at the tenth minute and give a round of applause for one minute in honor of Christian.
Many Belgian players have played with Christian Eriksen, including Romelu Lukaku, who is his teammate at Inter Milan, their soccer club in Italy.
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What do you think of Christian Eriksen’s recovery? What do you think about more defibrillators available on the football field? Let us know in the comments.
