DT Star Lotulelei Has Heart Condition

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by Roy P

There isn't a surgery to 'fix' the issue. Most likely he needs to lose weight and control his blood pressure. However, that isn't going to restore his cardiac output. He probably needs an Internal Cardioverter-Defibrillator so he doesn't have a Hank Geathers type "Sudden Cardiac Death" - this is not a benign issue like Arian Foster's arrthymia which could be cured by a simple ablation procedure in a couple of hours.

Whoa cowboy, His EF is reportedly 44%, so as you probably know he doesn't need an AICD, yet. And it's WAY TO EARLY to know if his cardiac output will be restored, depending on the possible cause(s). I found a (suprisingly)very well written article that sums it up better than I can right now:

Make no mistake, though—some of the causes of decreased heart function could threaten his playing career altogether. That said, others will not drop his draft stock in the slightest, and according to a Monday report by USA Today's Mike Garafolo, the hope is that recent weight loss and possible dehydration caused abnormalities in the salt levels in Lotulelei's blood—and thus the condition.

If so, that would be incredible news for Lotulelei, and his professional prospects would not be hurt at all.

Nevertheless, since many reversible causes of cardiomyopathy take quite some time to resolve, and since some are chronic, progressive conditions, nothing is a given. His situation should be more clear by April's NFL draft.

By then, Lotulelei's scare may just as well be a distant memory.

Let's hope so, for his sake.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...eart-condition