College Football Debates Whether to Fear or Shrug Off Myocarditis, Which UW Takes Seriously

The cardiac condition, caused by COVID-19, prompted the Big Ten and Pac-12 football season postponement.

Myocarditis.

It's described as an inflammation of the heart wall and has become an inseparable part of college football now.

Considered rare in the U.S., fewer than 200,000 cases are reported annually.

Symptoms consist of chest pains, abnormal heart beat and shortness of breath.

It's largely the spring-loaded reason the Pac-12 and Big Ten suddenly shut down their fall seasons more than a week ago during this COVID-19 pandemic, doing so shortly after coming up with revised football schedules.

This medical condition, on top of the virus, has created a great divide among college football conferences, coaches, players and fans on whether it is safe or not to push forward and play games this fall. Some fear this medical malady; others scoff at it.

As the debate wages on, the potential for damage to the game other than heart problems remains very real. This stalemate could lead to a transfer free-for-all. Power 5 conferences ignoring this health concern could pad their rosters with impatient players from the shuttered schools who are willing to take the risk and play.

Creating the groundswell for fall season postponement by the Pac-12 and Big Ten was the discovery of a half-dozen players diagnosed with this condition in the Midwest. There's more. 

Just this week, Georgia State freshman quarterback Mikele Colasurdo disclosed he has myocarditis caused by COVID-19 and would sit out. 

The Big Ten hasn't forgotten how myocarditis killed one of its football coaches — Northwestern's Randy Walker. He battled the viral infection for 20 months before he died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in June 2006. He was just 52. Walker's death shocked the conference. 

The Journal of American Medical Association recently released a study warning how contracting the COVID-19 virus could lead to heart problems, such as myocarditis. Medical professionals advising each of the Power 5 conferences have looked at these conclusions with varying opinions. 

UW head football trainer Rob Scheidegger, in the video, referenced myocarditis as one of three factors that led to the stoppage of the coming Pac-12 fall season. 

It hasn't been enough to prevent the SEC, Big 12 and ACC from playing.

However, Venk Murthy, Rubenfire Professor of Preventive Cardiology of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, suggested the Big Ten might have relied too much on a singular myocarditis study in deciding to shelve football for now. He wasn't so certain it was the grave danger to football players that it's been made out to be.

"The decision about allowing kids to play is very complex and involves many risks other than myocarditis," Murthy told SI's Wolverine Digest. "So, while the Big Ten decision very well could be the correct one based on the many complex issues at hand, I don't believe the decision should be based on this myocarditis paper. In truth, I would probably have more concern about CTE than COVID myocarditis."

I know this will not be popular, but there will be no game day social gatherings around stadiums: rallies, parties, tailgates. It’s no fun, but it’s what allows the athletes to play. I’d still rather be in the SEC with no tailgates, than the PAC-12 or Big 10 with no football.

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) August 20, 2020

While this potential cardiac issue lurks behind the virus, college football players for several decades have been willing to put their heart health at risk in so many ways in order to play the game.

For decades, they've used performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, that pumped up players' muscle mass but overtaxed their hearts and left some of them with serious cardiac issues, to the point they required organ transplants or died relatively young.

Most offensive linemen today carry 300 pounds or more, a weight gain that alone puts a tremendous strain on cardiac systems. Some of these players radically change their bodies once they leave football. 

Ed Cunningham, former University of Washington and Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman, played at a high of 306 pounds. Today, he weighs close to 200. He's more than 100 pounds lighter. He did this to live longer. 

With COVID-19, people with high-risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension are especially susceptible to health drawbacks and even death. Cardiac issues have emerged as more is learned about the contagion.

At Indiana, freshman lineman Brady Feeney now has  heart issues after testing positive for the virus. He carries 325 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. His mother listed his myriad health drawbacks on social media and it went viral. 

And the current IU player https://t.co/BXq4C1ro0x

— Trenton Gates (@Gates9Trent) August 13, 2020

The Big Ten and Pac-12 took the unprecedented step of postponing football at an enormous cost, financially as well as potentially driving off players and fans, largely because of myocarditis. The conferences felt the risk to proceed was too great. Other leagues feel differently. The argument rages over who is right or wrong.

"That cardiac thing just takes it up another notch," UW team doctor Kim Harmon told the Seattle Times. "So we used to think, 'We want to keep (COVID-19) out because we don't want to have big outbreaks, but kids aren't going to have a lot of problems with this.' Now we're like, 'Oh gosh, we don't know if they will or not.' "

College football surely will find out.

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