Arian Foster will have heart surgery, Alex Flanagan of the NFL Network reported, to correct an irregular heartbeat. No surgery is minor—heart surgery even less so—but this shouldn't affect his ability to play in the NFL.
Foster has had some issues with an irregular heartbeat, including one episode in Week 16. He didn't miss time and had no physical or performance issues. We don't know what triggers the episodes in Foster, but his symptomology—racing heartbeat and shortness of breath—don't mesh well with his job description.
This procedure is not normally done immediately. The patient has to be prepped for the surgery with the use of blood thinners, which normally takes two-to-three weeks. It is unclear whether Foster has been doing this or when the surgery may occur, but this should not affect his return timeline.
In this procedure, a special catheter is threaded through the body, usually through an opening in the groin or shoulder and up to the heart. At that point, the surgeon will use a special tool on the catheter, akin to a microwave, to essentially burn or scar a very small area of the heart. This eliminates the area of muscle that is either causing the arrhythmia or that is transmitting the signal.
The recovery period from this surgery is very short. It usually takes more time to recover from the small surgical wounds than it does the procedure itself. Most people will be back at work in a matter of days, but with Foster, he's likely to take it relatively easy given where he is in the NFL schedule.
With or without this procedure, he's in more of a "rest phase" and will continue to give the rest of his body a break. Foster should have no issues gearing back up or making it to the next scheduled activities with the Texans.
Other professional athletes have had a similar issue. Perhaps the most famous is Hakeem Olajuwon, who would have his episodes triggered by drinking water that was too cold. Punter Steve Weatherford, now of the Giants, had a cardiac ablation performed in 2010 and has had no problems since.
Super Bowl coach Jim Harbaugh had a similar procedure done in 2012 to correct an atrial "flutter." He admitted at that point that he had undergone an ablation during his playing career and had no trouble at all in coming back.
Mets fans might remember that pitcher Jon Niese was scheduled to have an RF ablation but ended up not having the procedure after medication seemed to clear up the symptoms. Carlos Silva of the Cubs did have the procedure performed and had no problems, as did Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers.
Given the relative ease of the procedure and the long list of players that have been able to return to their respective levels quickly, things look very positive for Foster.
Clearly any heart problem is serious, but medical technology has progressed to a point where a problem like this that could have been a lifelong issue and perhaps a career-ender is now unlikely to even mess with Foster's dinner plans.
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