The match of the eternal Jarque and Astori, with Eriksen in the retina

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Between the stadium Artemio Franchi, where this Saturday the match between Fiorentina and Espanyol, Y Coverciano, they barely mediate two kilometers away. In the technical center of the Italian federation Dani Jarque passed away, the eternal captain parakeet, 12 years will be fulfilled this Sunday. Not even three and a half have elapsed since the death, on March 4, 2018 and also in a hotel room, of his counterpart violates Davide asori. The match begins at 7:00 p.m., but in reality time will stop, as it stopped on June 12, when another captain, that of Denmark, Christian Eriksen, lost and regained his life in full Eurocopa.

In memory of the former, and in the quest not to repeat tremendous surprises like that of the Danish, this friendly is disputed, framed in the Unbeatables Cup –Which are also disputed by Roma and Betis– and which, with the entity of the same name as organizer, will raise funds for research on the cardiomyopathies and sudden death. “The silent murderer”, As he calls them Simone ambrosi, creator of this non-profit organization and ex-footballer who precisely hung up his boots after being diagnosed with a congenital ailment.

“It is estimated that one in 100,000 athletes under the age of 35 may suffer sudden death”, Says the doctor in AS César Romero, Head of Cardiology at the Parc Sanitari de Sant Joan de Déu, in Sant Boi, the city of Jarque. “I have patients who were friends of his and who even today ask me what could have happened,” he reveals. “One of the most likely causes is a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which affects but is poorly understood about one in 500 people”.

Another of the possible congenital pathologies under 35 years of age is a arrhythmogenic diosplasia of the right ventricle, “An abnormality that infiltrates fat in the right part of the heart.” And that's the one who suffered Antonio Puerta, legend in this case of Sevilla, who died on August 28, 2007.

About Eriksen some details are still unknown, without going any further, the Danish federation presented its case as that of “a heart collapse”. But it did transpire that the midfielder an ICD, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, was installed, so he is waiting to know if he will be able to play again, and if he will do so at his club, Inter Milan.

In this regard, Dr. Romero believes with some categorical opinion that “you can play sports, which is actually good for improving quality of life, but it shouldn't be competitive”. Of course, it presents a precedent: “In the United States there was an American football player that his club wanted to kick out because he was wearing an IAD. He sued them, claiming that if he was carrying that defibrillator it was precisely to protect himself from sudden death, and he got them not to fire him ”.

The defibrillators, not the internal ones but the DEA (automatic external) have been one of the sensible advances that have brought, paradoxically, tragedies like those of Marc Vivien Foe, in 2003, going through Miklos feher, a year later, or by incredible scares like that of Rubén de la Red, who retired in 2008 due to a virus that affected his myocardium. Stadiums are full of DEA, but also supermarkets, the subway, libraries … “And there are also far more people who know how to perform CPR than ten years ago”, Highlights the doctor.

However, this eminent cardiologist throws a disapproval to the world of sports. Or even the institutions. “We think that everyone undergoes a complete cardiological examination, and they do not. Now the big clubs do echocardiograms, but the others cannot afford full medical check-ups ”, evidence. And he adds: “By law, in Spain the signature of a doctor who makes you an electrocardiogram already validates you to participate in competition”.

And what is the difference between electrocardiogram and echocardiogram? “The electro gives you the electrical signal of the heart, that is a lot of information, but not all. The echocardiogram is an ultrasound, so you see the heart structure, how the valves move, the blood flows, you can calculate speeds … It must be an essential test in an elite athlete, and not only in the First Division ”, warns Romero, who also warns that in many cases there is a tendency to oversize the stress test: “Everyone thinks it's great and helpful for problem solving, but in a young individual who does sports, it is hardly going to give you any anomaly”.

Although great strides have been made, there is still a A long way to go to avoid or at least minimize sudden death. And this match between Fiorentina and Espanyol, far beyond serving as last rehearsal for Vicente Moreno's before LaLiga or reunion with experts like Jose Callejón or Pol Lirola, it will serve precisely for that. To investigate and ensure that cases like those of the eternal Dani Jarque and Davide Astori do not continue to occur in any corner of the planet.