AsylumGuido

Only if that O-lineman had a known condition for years that has been successfully controlled medically. That's why cardiac testing is done at the combine ... where Fairley's condition was discovered. There are ways to prevent tragedies like what happened at Kent State if only that testing was made mandatory for athletes at every level.

burningmetal

I'm not so sure it's being controlled medically as much as he's just gotten by... So far.

My mom's first husband died from an enlarged heart back in the early 80's. He had pneumonia, went to the hospital and kept getting worse, and that's when they first discovered he had the enlarged heart. There was nothing they could do about it back then, and combined with the pneumonia which was made far worse by his condition, he died within a couple of days.

They have since come up with a procedure to essentially cut a "pie slice" out of the heart, and then sew it back together. There may be another procedure (aside from a full transplant) now, but I haven't heard of any. He needs to do something about this, or he WILL have to stop playing. It's not something you play around with and treat with pills. Medications might wart of certain things from happening, but it's far too dangerous to keep going about it that way, in my opinion.

I'm also not certain that he would be advised to play if he DID have that procedure done that I referred to. I know it can extend the life of the average person, but I'm not sure if it's safe to continue with the strenuous lifestyle of being a football player. We'll have to see.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.