I'm 6mo off an MD so I defer to someone more qualified or who has done more research. But I think most of this is a result of detection bias in that athletes are having more tests done to them to screen for such disease. Your primary disease of concern is HOCM, the one where high school and college players will lose consciousness in the middle of a game. The incidence of this genetically inherited heart defect is certainly not higher in the athletic population, but this disease only manifests itself when people exert themselves such that increased force of contraction in the heart leads to a paradoxical obstruction of blood outflow. So for this disease and probably many other arrhythmias, the answer to your question is that there is no association between being athletic and having these problems. The one exception might in fact be Jeff Green's condition. In almost any adult of his age it is extremely rare to suffer from an aortic aneurysm the likes of which would require surgery. Not to get too technical, but there are multiple kinds of aortic aneurysms depending on location and cause, but generally surgical therapy is reserved only for those involving the ascending aorta or those of a large enough size in the abdominal aorta. Most descending thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms have causes and risk factors (like high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol) that only become consequential in middle to late ages. For him to get an aortic aneurysm indicating surgery, it might (and I'm really reaching here, without anymore information) indicate the presence of another causative. These could include connective tissue diseases like Marfan's syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos, or an infection like syphilis that hits the blood vessels surrounding the aorta. Basically I'm saying that the causes of his disease in his age are more exotic and could potentially be genetically linked. Now the kicker is that none of these diseases would theoretically assist you in playing sports, EXCEPT Marfan's syndrome which does make people have longer arms, longer fingers, and joint hypermobility. In a league like the NBA where many people are selected for their longer limbs, I don't imagine it's out of the realm of possibility for a few of their players to actually have Marfan's. If that is the case then, then it is true that they would carry increased risks of some of its complications including heart problems and vision problems. So the answer to your question is, yes and no? Sounds like a medical-enough answer to me. Hope that helped; remember I'm not an official medical advice giver, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Yet.
Thanks for the info Spacemoth. I have an abdominal aortic aneurysm just above where the aorta splits to each leg. It was found on x-rays taken of a pinched nerve in my lower back 5 to10 years ago before I found out I had high blood pressure. It originally was 3 cm. I have an ultrasound every year to check it. In the last 3 years it has grown to 4 cm & my doctor told me they consider surgery(a stint) between 4 & 5 cm. He then showed me the stint they would use. I almost passed out. It literally looked like a "Y" shaped clear plastic garden hose with wire mesh for support. That's my experience with it. I'm retired & while I exercize some, I'm not an athlete that daily gets his heart rate up for hours at a time. So regular check ups surfice for now. Best of luck to Jeff!
Yes your situation is much more characteristic of how an abdominal aortic aneurysm would develop. I would take your doctor's advice on monitoring and when to intervene; the last guidelines I read were advising repair at >5.5cm and an increase in >1cm per year. But I would imagine someone who does that for a living is more up to date on the literature than I am. I looked at their news story again and they seemed to mention that Green had a AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) also. AND they mentioned Marfan's lol. So maybe that's what it is. But I have never heard of Marfan's causing AAA, more characteristically it's the more serious ascending one, something called an aortic root dilatation that leads to widening of the aortic valve right where the heart pumps blood out. Anyways, again, big flashing words, DISCLAIMER, since it's a med student talking here.
It wasn't made public at the time, but the Celts pulled their qualifying offer. Green will be unrestricted whenever he does return to the NBA. Hopefully next season. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....-free-agent-as-celtics-pull-qualifying-offer/
Is that good or bad news? Does that mean he might have lost the chance of ever being paid as much as he was paid by the Celts, ever again?
I think it's good because at some future time, he can try to sell himself to the highest bidder and the choice is solely his. I have to believe he could get more than $9 million, but maybe no team will give him a multi-year deal. We'll see.
I wasn't aware he was worth that much before I read this thread. I thought he was an MLE type of player. At least that was what I got from the response of people when he was traded for Perkins, essentially calling the trade lopsided in OKC's favor. I hope aneurysms aren't a recurring thing and that it can be prevented. Unlike a microscopic knee surgery where the problem may never go away and essentially guaranteeing the player will never make that much money in the future again.
It's great news (relatively speaking) for Green. He will no longer be a restricted free agent upon his return to the NBA, and the Celtics still have his Bird rights to pay him if he wants to return to Boston. I'm a little confused why Ainge would do this, however. It seems like a nice gesture, but the Celtics have been otherwise very supportive of Green throughout this process. I don't see why this gesture was necessary on their part. They have lost all leverage in re-signing Green next summer (other than retaining his Bird rights, which isn't even that big a deal given Boston's anticipated cap room and the fact that many other teams will also have cap room). I'm not 100% sure if Green would have been entitled to all or any portion of his QO, regardless of his ability to perform, had he accepted it before it was withdrawn. It's good "human interest" press for the Celtics. Bad business decision, however.
Bima, didn't the new CBA change it so that all qualifying offers are now fully guaranteed? Thus, the Celts had the option of not paying Green and losing their right of first refusal, or paying him to not play (and still lose their right of first refusal).
I suppose so, but he'd never pass a physical. With his condition, it's just not a realistic option this season. That rule change starts NEXT year. For instance, Portland got to withdraw its large QO for Greg Oden after his latest injury setback, instead signing him to a much smaller one-year deal.
