Sevilla's Antonio Puerta collapsed during the first half of a match with Getafe on Saturday, suffering what doctors only referred to as "cardiac arrest" caused by "repetitive serious ventricular arrhythmias." In short: his heart's not beating right, they don't know why, and it's way, way serious. Sky Sports is reporting that Sevilla's president is calling them "heart attacks" now.
We warn you that though lacking gore, the video below is still quite disturbing in that it features a perfectly healthy athlete in top condition collapsing unconscious for no discernible reason.
Though he walked off the field with assistance, Puerta suffered a second cardiac arrest in the locker room and had to be revived by medical staff. Puerto remains in critical condition in a hospital in Seville, waiting out the effects of the heart attacks, including what doctors referred to as "brain suffering."
(Sky Sports is reporting that Sevilla's president is calling them "heart attacks" now. )
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Antonio Puerta's Horrifying Collapse
Posted Aug 27th 2007 6:15PM by Orson Swindle
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-27-2007 @ 7:02PM
Ryan Ferguson said...
Imagine that... having a heart attack in front of millions of people, and the only guy near enough to help you thinks you're choking on a hairball.
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8-27-2007 @ 7:12PM
Toxikk said...
i'm pretty sure they thought he was having a seizure or something. but who knows. i cannot imagine what those people were thinking. he just dropped like a sandbag. :s
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8-27-2007 @ 8:23PM
Unsilent Majority said...
They were worried that he would asphyxiate on his tongue.
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8-27-2007 @ 9:31PM
jnunez0926 said...
Ryan ferguson must be a complete IDIOT to think that thats what the players thought...You imbecile obviously the reason he had his fingers in his mouth was to prevent him from swallowing his tongue....What planet were you born on again???
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8-28-2007 @ 9:45AM
Ryan Ferguson said...
Jnunez: I guess you don't know much about human physiology.
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8-28-2007 @ 12:17PM
angela weiss said...
Rip, just found out you have passed away. May you rest in peace. x
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8-28-2007 @ 3:28PM
Dr P.copson said...
Quite so, if anyone callapses the first thing is always to ensure the airways are not blocked. The tongue is easily swallowed in an event of this nature. His fellow players behaved very well. It's very sad.
Reply
8-29-2007 @ 3:02AM
Manoj K. Poudel said...
This sort of incident are happening quite often in football field or any other games. Now is not it the time to think about the cause and prevention by the medical world? Actually I am a football player and a MBBS student in Nepal( A South-East Asian Country) ...so I am keenly interested in this field. How to prevent such incident like that with Puerto,, Marc-Vivian Foe, Miklos Foher, Serginho ,etc? Is it necessary that players go for regular cardiac check ups? Or what? Lets do research and find out. I want to take initiative in this regards. Please if anybody is interested in this field , contact me...we ll go together.My phone no. is 977-9841365640
Thanx
Reply
8-29-2007 @ 1:50PM
Imran said...
this is very sad and yes it was a good idea of trying to prevent his toung rolling back. good thinking by his team mate.
R.I.P Antonio Puerto
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8-30-2007 @ 6:47AM
clive said...
sad loss for the world of football...
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8-30-2007 @ 3:17PM
Caitlin said...
Actually no one actually "swallows" their tongue during a seizure and also the tongue does not block your esophogus without serious trauma to the tongue. (my brother had seizures before he had a a tumor removed from his brain and my family had to take a class in how to help him when they happen)they may have been trying to retrieve a mouth guard if they wear them. but they did what they thought was right at the time.
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8-31-2007 @ 4:01PM
Roland M. Jallah, Sr said...
I write express my deepest sympathy to the bereaved family of Antonio Puerta. He was one of my best players in Spain and it is too sadden to hear of his death. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
I am Roland M. Jallah, Sr., a Liberian studying in Ghana.
Reply
9-08-2007 @ 4:35PM
Ana said...
THIS IS SO SAD. THE COMMENTATOR SAID THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY FAINTED LIKE THIS 3 OR 4 TIMES DURING TRAINING.
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9-08-2007 @ 4:36PM
Ana said...
ALSO SEEING HIS MOTHER ON THE VIDEO IS JUST HEART BREAKING. QUE BARBARO Y QUE PENA.
Reply
9-09-2007 @ 6:48PM
A.R. said...
THIS IS SO SAD. THE COMMENTATOR SAID THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSY FAINTED 3 OR 4 TIMES DURING TRAINING.
Reply
9-24-2007 @ 7:01PM
carlos said...
I agree with Matt 100%. Although this was a tragic loss for the sport and an absolute shock for the teammates, fans and so painful for the family. There should be lessons learned from this tragic incident in that... anyone for any reason losing consciousness or motor ability in a sport through injury or incidence of collapse should be "put straight on a stretcher and carried off" to avoid any additional damage or the chance of complications afterwards. This was a most unfortunate tragedy, my prayers go out to Antonio Puerta, his family and friends.
Reply
10-07-2007 @ 3:26PM
Al said...
he is dead now!
Reply
10-08-2007 @ 2:21AM
matt said...
Actually, it's physically impossible to swallow your tongue. If you're lying on your back and are unconscious, your muscles relax and the tongue can slide back and block your trachea. I think it more likely from looking at the footage that he was fitting and the player appeared to be trying to open his mouth to check his airway as it is possible for stomach contents to cause a choking hazard in this situation. I think the biggest problem with what happened is the medical staff permitting him to walk after his collapse, thus putting his heart under much greater strain. I'm not suggesting they are in any way responsible as his heart may have been so badly damaged that his death was inevitable. But they should have been more aware that a guy who appeared to suffer heart problems, coupled with the fact that they knew he had an existing heart condition, should have been put straight on a stretcher and carried off, ensuring his heart wouldn't have to work so hard. Still, it's a sad story all around.
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