Health Scares on the Football Field: A Series of Cardiac Incidents

Evan Ndicka had a health scare during the Udinese-Roma match. As soon as he was taken off the field to the locker room, he underwent an electrocardiogram. The examination raised some doubts about the possibility of cardiac disorders. Therefore, he was urgently transferred by ambulance to the Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital in Udine. Ndicka, who is the Roma defender struck by illness against Udinese: age, career, nationality. The Sores, regional health operations center, announced that the player was admitted to the hospital under a code yellow, meaning that N'Dicka is not in life-threatening danger. There are precedents of players having health scares during a match, particularly cardiac incidents occurring during football games. The most recent one was of the Dane Christian Eriksen, during the 2020 European Championship won by the Italians. During a UEFA Euro 2020 football match between Denmark and Finland, Eriksen suddenly lost consciousness just before the end of the first half. Footage showed the Danish player suddenly collapsing while receiving a throw-in. Rescuers intervened immediately, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers were performed. Eriksen was then urgently transported to the hospital, where he was stabilized. It was later discovered that he had suffered a cardiac arrest but fortunately survived thanks to the quick response of the medical staff. During a 2003 Confederations Cup match between Cameroon and Colombia, Marc-Vivien Foe suffered a cardiac arrest without any physical contact with other players. He died shortly after. In December 2007, during a football match in Scotland between Motherwell and Dundee United, Phil O'Donnell suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and died shortly after. In 2007, during a football match between Sevilla and Getafe, Antonio Puerta suffered a cardiac arrest. Although he was able to leave the field with the help of rescuers, he suffered another cardiac crisis in the stadium corridors and subsequently died in the hospital. During a 2012 Italian Serie B football match between Livorno and Pescara, Piermario Morosini suffered a cardiac arrest. Despite attempts at resuscitation on the field and immediate transportation to the hospital, he died shortly after. During a 2012 FA Cup match between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest. Rescuers intervened promptly and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the field. Muamba was urgently transported to the hospital and, despite being in a coma for two days, made a full recovery. During a training session with his club, Portsmouth, in 2019, Nwankwo Kanu suffered a cardiac problem. He was urgently transported to the hospital where a cardiac valve was implanted to correct his health issue. Kanu then successfully recovered. During a football match in 2019, Zapata, a Colombian defender for Milan, suffered a health scare due to a cardiac problem. He was immediately subjected to medical treatment and later returned to play after a recovery period. During a pre-season match with his club, Ajax, in 2020, Daley Blind suffered a cardiac problem. He underwent surgery to correct a cardiac irregularity and then resumed his football activity with additional precautions.