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Copyright 2004 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times (London)
January 12, 2004, Monday
SECTION: Sport; The Game 4
LENGTH: 291 words
HEADLINE: Injuries and illnesses explained
BYLINE: Catherine Riley
BODY:
THERE WAS sad news from the Ukraine last week announcing the death of Shalva
Apkhazava. In a painful echo of Marc-Vivien Foe's death, it was announced that
the Georgian striker had suffered from cardiomyopathy. Unlike Foe, who collapsed
on the pitch during the Confederations Cup last June, Apkhazava died in his
sleep.
Apkhazava, 23, had trained with Arsenal Kiev the previous day and had showed
no signs of any health problems.
INJURY
Cardiomyopathy takes several forms, but is essentially a disease of the
heart muscle. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the muscle fibres of the heart
grow abnormally, leading to a thickening of the heart walls, particularly in the
left ventricle, which is the one that does the majority of the pumping. This
thickening reduces the size of the chamber and causes poor blood flow,
preventing the heart from relaxing between beats.
SYMPTOMS
Many sufferers have no symptoms and in some cases, including Foe's and
Apkhazava's, the first and only symptom is sudden death. It is caused by the
lower chambers of the heart beating so chaotically that no blood is pumped and
so instead of actually beating, the heart ends up simply quivering. For those
that do have symptoms, the most common are shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat
and chest pain.
TREATMENT
Most cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are inherited and abnormal heart
sounds can be detected through a stethoscope. Sufferers may need to become less
active and beta blockers can be taken, although in some cases a pacemaker, or
surgery, is the only answer.
PROGNOSIS
Patients will need medical supervision for the rest of their lives and about
3 per cent of those will die when the heart suddenly stops beating.
The Times (London)
January 12, 2004, Monday
SECTION: Sport; The Game 4
LENGTH: 291 words
HEADLINE: Injuries and illnesses explained
BYLINE: Catherine Riley
BODY:
THERE WAS sad news from the Ukraine last week announcing the death of Shalva
Apkhazava. In a painful echo of Marc-Vivien Foe's death, it was announced that
the Georgian striker had suffered from cardiomyopathy. Unlike Foe, who collapsed
on the pitch during the Confederations Cup last June, Apkhazava died in his
sleep.
Apkhazava, 23, had trained with Arsenal Kiev the previous day and had showed
no signs of any health problems.
INJURY
Cardiomyopathy takes several forms, but is essentially a disease of the
heart muscle. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the muscle fibres of the heart
grow abnormally, leading to a thickening of the heart walls, particularly in the
left ventricle, which is the one that does the majority of the pumping. This
thickening reduces the size of the chamber and causes poor blood flow,
preventing the heart from relaxing between beats.
SYMPTOMS
Many sufferers have no symptoms and in some cases, including Foe's and
Apkhazava's, the first and only symptom is sudden death. It is caused by the
lower chambers of the heart beating so chaotically that no blood is pumped and
so instead of actually beating, the heart ends up simply quivering. For those
that do have symptoms, the most common are shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat
and chest pain.
TREATMENT
Most cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are inherited and abnormal heart
sounds can be detected through a stethoscope. Sufferers may need to become less
active and beta blockers can be taken, although in some cases a pacemaker, or
surgery, is the only answer.
PROGNOSIS
Patients will need medical supervision for the rest of their lives and about
3 per cent of those will die when the heart suddenly stops beating.
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