Tuesday 22 November 2022 06:14 PM How CAN Christian Eriksen still play football after his heart attack? trends now
Danish footballer Christian Eriksen today played for his national side against Tunisia in his first major tournamment since collapsing on the pitch 18 months ago.
In May 2021, he had suffered a cardiac arrest in the 42nd minute of Denmark's first game of the European Championship against Finland in Copenhagen.
Describing the incident, Eriksen said he was 'gone from this world for five minutes'. He was resuscitated and rushed to hospital.
Despite what some believed to be a career-finishing medical condition, the 30-year-old made a remarkable return to the Premier League with Brentford in February this year thanks to an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).
The Manchester United midfielder is the first known top-flight footballer to be fitted with the matchbox-sized device, which is implanted in those thought to be at risk of cardiac arrest at some point in the future.
It works by sending electrical shocks to the heart to make it start pumping again — effectively rebooting it when it fails.
Today, he was in the starting line up in Denmark's first World Cup Game against Tunisia in Qatar. Manager Kasper Hjulmand described him as the 'heartbeat of the team'.
Danish footballer Christian Eriksen today played for his national side against Tunisia (pictured) in his first major tournamment since collapsing on the pitch 18 months ago
In May 2021, he had suffered a cardiac arrest in the 42nd minute of Denmark's first game of the European Championship against Finland in Copenhagen (pictured)
ICDs work by sending electrical shocks to the heart to make it start pumping again — effectively rebooting it when it fails
While playing Finland in the first half of the opening game of the Euros in summer 2021, Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest.
This is when the heart stops beating altogether due to problem with the organ's electrical signals, which prevents blood from pumping around the body.
Sufferers will die within minutes unless they are treated with CPR.
His teammates called for assistance, which saw medics give Eriksen CPR and use an automated external defibrillator to restart his heart.
