Stephan Lichtsteiner (489 Viewers)

Martin

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
Get well soon, Steph!



It's a benign cardiac arrhythmia (atrial flutter), which is a type of tachycardia. I am certainly no expert, but I read it's basically down to irregular electrical signalling in the atria. Heart rate feels elevated, you get lightheaded, feel faint, need to sit down, focus on breathing, etc. One can semi black out if they're exerting themselves... well, you kind of see black spots, at least. Some athletes go through this ablation surgery, and occasionally have to have the procedure repeated. Jonas Gustavsson (NHL back up goaltender) once had 3 ablation procedures in 16 months, I'm pretty sure that was for a flutter. That was in 2011, and he's still in the league now (barely, although goaltending isn't exactly running up and down the pitch for 90).

Good it's not atrial fibrillation, which is a different and common type of tachycardia, and what I thought he was diagnosed with at first. Rich Peverley (hockey, again) had this, the Dallas Stars treated him preseason, and then 3/4 of the way through the year he almost died on the bench after going into cardiac arrest. Not to alarm anyone, different condition and I think there may have been some weird interaction with some meds they had him on, also. Anyway, Pevs heart stopped, but the EMS were on the scene in literally 15 seconds or so, and saved his life. That was some scary $#@!, but not the same as this situation.
eh that wasn't the most reassuring explanation ever
 

Hydde

Minimiliano Tristelli
Mar 6, 2003
38,840
Reports are now saying that he might be out for up to 6 months. I guess that means the hunt for a RB should start now with a possible purchase in January.
Thats more accurate than one month.

Im not a doctor, but just one month of rest after a cardiac surgery for a footballer was werid as hell.
 

Rollie

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2008
5,143
eh that wasn't the most reassuring explanation ever
I know, Sir. And, well, that's because we are talking about his heart, Martin. If mistakes in diagnosis or treatment are made, the results can be catastrophic.

I'm sure he's receiving some of the best medical treatment money can buy, but when it comes to heart issues diagnosis can be tricky, and they're always serious. We'll just have to be patient, and see how this plays out.
 

Cronios

Juventolog
Jun 7, 2004
27,483
It has been an honour and a privilege, hopefully he will be given a role in our team from next year and this year will be ready to wear our jersey, even for a few minutes and hopefully even handled a title.
 

Rollie

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2008
5,143
Not sure if posted, but from the team site.

http://www.juventus.com/en/news/news/2015/prof-gaita-on-lichtsteiner-.php

On Friday 2 October, Stephan Lichtsteiner underwent ablation surgery following a case of benign arrhythmia (atrial flutter), which caused the player difficulty breathing during the Frosinone game on 23 September.

Professor Fiorenzo Gaita performed the operation. A global pioneer in the field of ablation and head of cardiology at the University delle Molinette, he began by reassuring us as to Lichtsteiner's condition: "The operation lasted less than an hour and the player is doing very well."

Professor, what exactly was Lichtsteiner suffering from?
"Atrial flutter is an arrhythmia of the atria which, in layman's terms, are like the heart's 'petrol tank'. These have a sort of electrical circuit which, in the event of a flutter, sends the heart rate from the normal 60 beats-per-minute up to 300. Not all of these beats reach 'the engine' because Mother Nature has given us a 'filter', the atrioventricular valve, which prevents a third - or even half - of them from making it through, i.e. 75 or 150. However, all of the impulses can make it through in instances of stress or considerable physical effort. In instances such as these, with the heart rate at 300 beats-per-minute, the patient can suffer from breathing problems, as was the case with the player."

Do you have to operate in cases like these?
"The other option is for the patient to take medication for the rest of their life which does not in any case resolve the problem - it only tends to prevent it, and moreover it's only successful in around 60% of cases. The alternative is surgery, via a procedure we've been fine-tuning since 1992. The operation is called transcatheter ablation: we insert a catheter into a vein in the leg running to the heart, which records the circuit of the flutter and the tip of the catheter burns a little, as if it were an electro-scalpel. It's now a very widespread technique and is the treatment of choice for sportsmen."

Will a month be enough time to recover?
"Yes, he'll have recovered after 30 days, then we'll run some more tests and, if everything looks OK, he'll be cleared to play football. This timeframe comes from the Medicine in Sport guidelines and clearly they vary depending on the type of arrhythmia and, with instances of flutter, the general rule is a month for recovery."
 

Zacheryah

Senior Member
Aug 29, 2010
42,251
Thats more accurate than one month.

Im not a doctor, but just one month of rest after a cardiac surgery for a footballer was werid as hell.
When serious enough these things are close to a year then a month
Not sure what that attentionwhore who said "1 month" was smoking


you are fully right to not believe that crap
 

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