NHL player thanks his rescuers
DALLAS, TX--Stars forward Rich Peverley will not play again this season and will undergo a procedure aimed at regulating his heart rate.
Peverley was released from UT Southwestern St. Paul Hospital on Wednesday night following two days of tests after he collapsed on the bench in Monday's game and was treated for a cardiac event. His next step is to head to Cleveland for surgery, which was originally scheduled for the offseason.
Recovery will take at least a few months.
"His season is over," Dr. Robert J. Dimeff, primary care sports medicine director at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said Wednesday during a news conference.
Peverley, 31, collapsed on the Stars' bench early in Monday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at American Airlines Center. He was treated immediately by medical personnel in the tunnel that leads from the ice to the Stars' dressing room.
Doctors on the scene said Peverley was treated for a "cardiac event" and that he was defibrillated successfully after one attempt. Dimeff said Peverley's heart was beating very fast and then stopped, but he thinks for only a few seconds. It didn't take long for medical personnel -- and an unknown woman in a green Stars jersey who is believed to be a season-ticket holder -- to jump into action and start CPR.
Dimeff said that the results of tests Peverley has undergone since have been normal.
Peverley made a brief appearance at the news conference and thanked doctors for saving his life, and the team's coaches, front office and fans for their support. He shook hands with all of the doctors and departed.
Dimeff said he and his team practice responding to medical emergencies on the ice and were able to get Peverley from the bench to the tunnel in 14 seconds. The NHL mandates that games are staffed by doctors, emergency responders, a plastic surgeon and a dentist.
"It's controlled panic, but everything was done very professionally and there were no issues," Dimeff said.
Dimeff said his staff is coordinating with those in Cleveland and that Peverley will undergo the procedure soon. Dimeff said he and his staff discussed a variety of treatment options before the season started, including the surgery in Cleveland, after atrial fibrillation, the most common type of heart arrhythmia, was discovered during Peverley's preseason physical.
SOURCE: ESPN