By Matt Somerford
Press Association Sport
LONDON — Fabrice Muamba’s chances of recovery after sustaining a cardiac arrest were “significantly’’ aided by the speed of the medical team at White Hart Lane, according to a Football Association accredited cardiologist.
The Bolton midfielder was in a critical condition today after he collapsed during yesterday’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham.
The 23-year-old was immediately tended to by medical staff who conducted prolonged resuscitation on the pitch and in an ambulance en route to the London Chest Hospital.
The medical team were this morning praised by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy for their response and Dr Graham Stuart, medical director of Sports Cardiology UK, believes their quick work has given Muamba the greatest possible chance of making a recovery.
“They were obviously very troubling scenes but the thing that was most vital was how quickly he received treatment,’' Stuart told Press Association Sport.
“At that stage the support is critical and the speed of treatment is vital. Any delay can damage various organs.
“The sooner they were able to get him breathing again then the better.
“I was not at the game and do not know the details, but from what I saw it was only a few minutes before he had help. The medical teams were there straight away which is very important.
“That would significantly help his hopes of recovering there is no doubt.’'
Paramedics could not get Muamba’s heart beating on its own for almost two hours.
The hospital has said Muamba, who is a father of one, would remain ``anaesthetised in intensive care and will be for at least 24 hours’’.
``At this stage they are likely to be doing as much as possible to support the organs of the patient,’' Stuart said.
``They can do various things such as cooling the body down. At this stage doctors would be looking to get oxygen back to the brain.’'
The incident has rocked the football world with Muamba’s former Birmingham manager Steve Bruce describing him as ``one of the fittest players I have managed’’.
Stuart said there were several factors that could have caused the cardiac arrest, adding that detecting the issue beforehand could have been problematic.
``Usually in these cases the reason for this happening is something to do with a heart muscle problem or there is a weakness in the heart muscle,’' he said.
``It could also be a primary arrhythmia disorder; that is where there is an irregularity in the heart of the ionic channels.’'
Asked if it could have been prevented he added: ``All junior footballers from the age of 16-17 undergo these checks in the UK. The FA funds these checks to ensure all young players are screened.
“That would pick up any problem in the majority of cases but that is not always the case. These things can develop after that age.
“It is not obligatory for the clubs to screen players after that as far as I know.’'
In Italy all athletes are required to undergo an annual heart screening and while Stuart said that had reduced such incidents in top-level sport, he said the ruling had its pitfalls with some athletes needlessly banned.
“Italy is the other extreme where every athlete that competes, not just in football, has an annual screening,’' he said.
“It has worked in so far as there has been a 90% reduction in these incidents.
“It is a controversial ruling, however, because there is scope within it for players to be banned from competing when the likelihood is that they would not be affected.’'
He added: “Every year these things unfortunately happen in sport. It is not the sport that is the problem but rather the abnormality that causes it.
“It is quite possible this could have happened in any other sort of exercise. The heart is under stress in the same way in various activities such as running up a hill.
“That is the underlying factor in these circumstances.’'
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