In addition to the obvious “don’t eat spinach” rule which is surely going into affect, word now comes that the NBA is instituting a requirement that requires all players to undergo a required heart screening requirement.
This is spurred mostly by two things – the death last season of Hawks center Jason Collier, and the paranoia surrounding Knicks center Eddy Curry’s meal-filled arteries.
All players will have to take the tests, which is why we so adamantly noted that it’s required. Word variation be damned.
According to the Times, the league will now require a number of tests which exceed the American Heart Association 12-point program. They include a physical examination, blood work, an electrocardiogram, a resting echocardiogram and a stress echocardiogram. Players must also provide personal and family histories to screen for certain predispositions.
The standard electrocardiogram (EKG) can detect an irregular heartbeat, while an echocardiogram is an ultrasound that allows doctors to study the size of the heart and the strength of the heart muscle.
What to say, really? It’s a good idea, and can’t hurt anyone, although we’ve never really understood the whole idea of the “stress test”.
We registered an irregular heartbeat in high school once during a physical, and they sent us to get one of these. (The fact we’d taken like a handful of caffeine pills that morning was something we kept to ourself.)
Whatever – how does making someone who may be at risk for a heart attack run really hard on a treadmill not put them at a really serious risk of an immediate heart attack? Maybe it’s considered okay because you’re like, already at the hospital, but we fail to grasp the concept.
It’s not the first or last thing we don’t understand, so now worries. Speaking of things we do/do not understand, we figured out the whole animated gif thing, so YAYsports! is now good for 14% more seizures among the readership.
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