What is a seizure, what are the consequences and what will the recovery be like according to the view of a specialist?

Minutes of anguish and despair were experienced on Sunday night in La Plata during the match between Students y Boca which was suspended after 27 minutes of play after the Chilean midfielder Javier Altamirano, 24 years old, decompensated and began to convulse. Some of his teammates, especially Enzo Pérez and Santiago Ascacibar, burst into tears while the player was transported in an ambulance after receiving first aid on the field. There were moments of uncertainty until the voice from the stadium brought calm when it assured that the footballer had been stabilized.

The first studies to which Altamirano was subjected showed positive results. Although it still remains to be clarified what the origin of the seizures was and that is why the former Huachipato remains hospitalized for observation in the intensive care unit of the Platense Medical Institute awaiting new evaluations.

While waiting for the evolution of Altamirano, who spent the night stable and in the company of his wife, who is pregnant, the questions multiply. What was the origin of the seizure? What consequences can they entail? And what are the next steps before he returns to competing in high performance? Clarín consulted the cardiologist and sports doctor Norberto Debbag (MN 51.320) to explain all these issues.

“The important thing is that the studies that were carried out at the moment gave him correct. Furthermore, the fact that everything was controlled quickly is no small feat because it rules out the chances of an epileptic episode. “It must be treated carefully and trying to find the causes of the reaction,” he warns. Debbag in dialogue with this newspaper.

“The seizure is an alteration of the electrical conduction of the brain, a function carried out by the neurons.. It is a brain symptom that produces irritation and muscle contraction and jerks occur from the spinal cord,” he explained. And he continued: “This is a rare situation to see in a soccer player.unless a head trauma is generated, a fact that is normal in sports such as boxing, but which did not occur in the match.”

After finding himself conscious and stable, Debbag confirmed that the steps to follow are based on a single search: determine whether the seizure was due to neurological or cardiological causes.

“First it must be certified whether the player’s fainting comes from the seizure or vice versa. That can clarify the situation. Altamirano will possibly be subjected to studies such as an MRI, a neurological exam, an electrocardiogram, interrogations to evaluate what you remember about the situation and I would try a 24 or 48 hour holter to be more specific with everything,” listed the doctor who is also in charge of taking care of the professional staff of Estudiantes de Buenos Aires.

From his experience, Debbag He ruled out the possibility that the seizure had been caused by a lack of sodium or by stress that could have been caused by heat. because the incident occurred before half an hour of play. In addition, he specified that a CT scan performed during the last hours of Sunday allowed doctors rule out “the chance of tumors or brain hemorrhage”.

“That is to say, Luckily, there were no chances of sudden death.“he stressed…

Given this panorama, it is from the cardiological side that an explanation for the case could emerge. “If this is the case, the first thing that the doctors in charge will have to rule out are pathologies related to arrhythmias. “They are not usually seen in the studies that are carried out daily on professional players,” he said. And he gave as an example the case of Sergio Kun Agüero, who had to stop actively practicing soccer after a coronary problem.

However, there is also the possibility that the analyzes do not find any pathology that would allow Altamirano to explain the reason for the episode. In that case, Debbag considered that it could be a “idiopathic seizure“.

“There is always a percentage chance that an explanation will not be found.. If this happens, you should only resort to subjecting the player, once discharged, to a demand similar to what he suffered in the match to see if his body can withstand those loads again,” he explained.

Altamirano, who This Monday morning he was transferred to the Italian Hospital of the City of Buenos Aires to undergo an MRI and later he will return to the Platense Medical Institute, has a long road ahead before returning to the courts. “The main thing is to wait for the diagnosis. Without this, it is not possible to do futurology or delve much deeper into the subject.. “It is the most important thing that remains to be known since only then will the causes of the episode and the specific steps to follow be known.”

And he added: “If everything goes well and in the next few hours Altamirano receives a medical discharge, the recovery will be gradual: There is a psychophysical rest of 15 or 20 days, added to the help of a psychologist for both the player and his family.. The fears and questions that may appear in the boy’s head when he returns to playing football can play an important role in recovery.”

Despite the desperation generated by suffering situations of this nature in the middle of a game, Debbag saw as positive that the episode that Altamirano suffered maintained an average duration, which ranges from a few seconds to two minutes at most. “If it had been something of 10 minutes, as sometimes happens, we could talk about brain or organ damagebut this is not the case,” he warned.

In addition, he highlighted the speed of the medical procedure in the event of an emergency. The entry and removal of the ambulance from the stadium took only two minutes, a fact that facilitates patient care even though the vehicle has anticonvulsant medication to control the situation.

“Entrances must be quick. For this, inspections are carried out to ensure that nothing bad happens. Everything is marked for cases of this style or even worse,” said Debbag while praising Estudiantes’ effective protocol.

They will be quieter hours than those experienced during the early morning. “The medical report is the most important, it works as a diagnosis of general causes that clarify the steps to follow“Debbag closed.