Christian Eriksen had a cardiac arrest in 2021 and almost died. He’s back on the pitch in Qatar. How did that happen?

What had happened?

Eriksen, 29 at the time, was jogging in the left midfield when he suddenly dropped to the ground. It was not immediately clear as to what had happened, as the ball was nowhere near him, and he did not seem to have suffered from any physical contact. As the medical team rushed to the spot, the look on the faces of those on the ground gave the first inkling that something was seriously wrong.

Eriksen had suffered from a cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack and occurs when blood stops pumping through the body as it should. This can happen when electrical impulses that regulate heartbeats do not function properly or when the walls of the heart become damaged. After receiving CPR and defibrillation on the pitch, he was stretchered off to hospital with the Danish players surrounding him.

Eriksen would eventually get a surgery and then recuperate for 3 months. But returning to football seemed a distant dream at the time.

Are cardiac arrests common among young athletes?

While instances of sudden cardiac arrests among young people have increased in recent times, it is still fairly rare to find it amongst top professional athletes. However, it is not completely unheard of. Genetic conditions leading to a cardiac arrest or infections can affect anybody, regardless of physical fitness.

According to Jack Goodman, professor of cardiovascular exercise physiology at the University of Toronto, “they (athletes) are vulnerable at the right time with the right trigger to having this type of an electrical dysfunction that causes a serious arrhythmia that could lead to an arrest and in a fatal outcome”.

Christian Eriksen’s case is not the first in football.

* In 2019, Real Madrid and Spain legend Iker Casillas suffered a cardiac arrest at the training ground of Porto. He survived but was sidelined for a year and retired without ever playing another professional game in 2020.

* In 2012, promising 23-year-old Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba had a cardiac arrest during a televised FA cup game between Bolton and Tottenham. His heart stopped for 78 minutes but miraculously, Muamba survived. However, the tragedy put a premature end to what could have been a promising career in the English top-flight.

* Back in June 2003, during a FIFA Confederations game between Cameroon and Colombia, Cameroonian defensive midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed on the pitch in Lyon. Multiple attempts to revive him failed and he passed away tragically.

How did Christian Eriksen return?

The above cases highlight how difficult it is for athletes to return to the game after a cardiac arrest such as the one suffered by Eriksen. He has not only returned but managed to surpass all expectations of his performance, finding his way back to the Danish team as one of its most important players. A few years back, this might not even have been possible.

In the aftermath of his cardiac arrest, Eriksen was surgically fitted with an ICD (implanted-cardioverter-defibrillator). This device, sometimes called the “shock box” looks after the heart’s rhythm. If it senses any abnormality, it shocks the heart back to normal functioning.

Till 2015, doctors would generally advise individuals with ICDs to not undergo any strenuous exercise. However, new research conducted by Yale University with 440 athletes with ICDs has shown that the risk of having any adverse event is minimal and the risk of an ICD failing is even smaller. Unfortunately for Eriksen, the league in which he was then playing, the Serie A, continues to bar players from playing with such a device.

Thus, in the 2022 January transfer window, Eriksen signed with newly promoted Brentford in the English Premier League, making his football return in February. After a handful of appearances for the team, he signed for Manchester United in the summer of 2022. Since the beginning of this season, Eriksen is back to his best, becoming the deep-lying creative midfielder United have unsuccessfully tried to acquire for years.

His return to the Danish side at the big stage of the FIFA World Cup marks a full circle for him. The Danish side performed admirably in his absence, losing to England in extra time in the semis. However, Eriksen’s return to the team for this tournament has only bolstered their team, providing efficient creativity from midfield like very few other footballers in the world can.