The sudden cardiac arrest suffered by Fabrice Muamba was “an accident waiting to happen”, according to a leading UK cardiologist with extensive knowledge of heart disorders in professional athletes.
The cardiologist, who spoke to Telegraph Sport under condition of anonymity, said that current heart screening processes may not pick up conditions that could develop later in their career.
The cardiac arrest that caused Muamba, 23, to collapse during Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Tottenham is thought to have been caused by arrhythmia, or disorder of the heart rhythm. This could have been induced by a number of underlying heart conditions, most stemming from an abnormality of the heart muscle.
“One of them is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy [HCM],” the cardiologist said. “This is a condition which can have a genetic basis, which may run in families or as an isolated case. It’s where the left ventricle has totally disorganised and thickened. Severe cases can present as sudden death during exercise. It’s an unusual but serious rhythm disorder. The heart shivers and shakes and stops beating properly.”
Another potential cause is right ventricle dysplasia, a condition where the heart is infiltrated by abnormal fatty tissue. This is more difficult to diagnose, sometimes requiring an MRI scan to detect.
Other heart conditions that may induce sudden collapse are Brugada Syndrome and Long QT Syndrome, where the electrical flux in the heart muscle can become abnormal.
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