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Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, center, returned to the sideline after being treated in the locker room in Denver because of a heart issue. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
The setting was different, but for Jim Harbaugh the feeling was hauntingly familiar.
It began the night before Sunday’s Chargers game against the Denver Broncos, when an irregular heartbeat — an issue he dealt with in 1999 and 2012 — caused him discomfort. He informed at least some of his players, telling them he was simply excited about the game.
But the arrhythmia — diagnosed as an atrial flutter — resurfaced in more dramatic fashion during pregame warmups, prompting him to briefly duck into the blue medical tent on the sideline then head for the locker room flanked by team medical personnel.
There’s so much activity happening on an NFL sideline that many of the players had no idea that defensive coordinator Jesse Minter had taken over head coaching duties in Harbaugh’s absence.
Meanwhile, in the visitors’ locker room, paramedics were measuring the electrical activity of Harbaugh’s heart by administering an electrocardiogram. Marco Zucconi, Chargers director of player health, wellness and performance, gave the coach an IV and magnesium to treat his condition.
Read more: Jim Harbaugh, Chargers feeling better after first win in Denver since 2018
“It’s the heart,” Harbaugh said after the 23-16 victory, “so you take it seriously.”
Within minutes, his heart had returned to a normal rhythm and he returned to the game, walking back down the sideline and collecting the red challenge flag from Minter, who had been defensive coordinator on Harbaugh’s University of Michigan staff.
After his two previous episodes of atrial flutter, Harbaugh underwent ablations, which are minimally invasive procedures that treat irregular heartbeats by destroying heart tissue that causes abnormal electrical signals.
Thirteen years passed between his first and second ablations, and the second was 12…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/chargers-coach-jim-harbaugh-had-023608145.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-10-14 02:36:08
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