Injury Report: Letang had a stroke

[CrozJawz*]

I'm not saying that it is the same as Letang's situation but it sounds exactly like my wife.

About a month after she gave birth to our first child, she started having really bad migraines and here face and arm would go slightly numb. We saw a neurologist and had some MRIs done and they determined that she had a "mini stroke". We then saw a cardiologist and they discovered that she had a very small hole in her heart and that clotting likely hit that hole in the heart and caused the stroke.

Very scary stuff at the time but they monitored it well and she never had to take blood thinners. We got the green light to have another child and she regular runs 5ks and triathalons...

Take it for what it's worth, I just wish Letang the best of luck in his situation...

 

[Fire Shero*]

Sucks. Hopefully he makes a full recovery.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Classic. Thanks for this, Jaded.

 

[PensPlz]

I'm convinced this team is cursed.

 

[dr robbie]

sucks man. hope tanger gets well and isn't rushed back. life > hockey.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Ok, just got off the telephone with my girlfriend who is a CCU nurse on the coronary unit at her hospital.

From the limited information in the press release, and with the caveat that the info is limited:


She said that as long as there were no residuals (damage from the stroke) they will need to do open heart surgery to repair the hole, but once they do he should be normal. The only other treatment is blood thinners but he could not play with those as they would severely impair his ability to play on a level one would need as a professional. The recovery time for that surgery is 6 weeks for a normal person but for an athlete it could be longer. His doctor would say.

But he appears to be very lucky and if the indications are accurate he could completely eliminate the issue with one surgery.

Not truly an MD but lots of medical knowledge. I don't think this is an issue of them "catching it" in time. A stroke is a quick and transient event, and if it was a serious one, unless it was treated within the first handful of hours, there could be long-term and sometimes irreparable damage.

And yes: I would be very concerned about being on blood-thinners and playing hockey. This absolutely could increase the risk of injuries and make certain risks more severe.

What I don't understand is: if this is truly caused by a hole in Letang's heart, the long term solution should be to repair that hole. Then, he shouldn't need blood thinners, and blood thinners alone -- in addition to having very poor side effects, particularly if they're synthetic like warfarin -- can have a ton of side effects and interfere with other things.

Perhaps they're looking at a shorter term solution and monitoring of the problem because Letang may want to still play this season, but I wonder (and would hope) if fixing the hole would be something they could do, and something on their radar for after the season.

so he has a pfo. they are fairly common in the population. i forget exactly but like 20-40% of the population have them.

you dont need to do an open heart surgery to repair a pfo. maybe 20 years ago you did.

interventional cardiology can place a patch endovascularly, probably through an incision in the femoral artery in his leg.

Good medical info, guys. Thanks. TTEOT, too bad you had to follow it up with a hockey IQ comment.



MOD NOTICE:
Anyone making wise-cracks about hockey IQ or trades is going to get infracted. There's no call for that in this situation. Most of the fans coming in here form other teams are showing class. Do the same or just don't post.

 

[BernieParent]

I just want to add my words of commiseration and best wishes. A player's health always surpasses team rivalries.

It's good news that Letang's symptoms seem to point to a transient ischemic attack, which shouldn't leave any permanent effects (I work in medical publishing in the real world). Nothing to take any chances with, though. Thankfully, as an athlete, Letang has access to all the medical assistance he should need.

 

[DegenX]

Man ... it doesn't matter how many times I've seen some variation of 'Letang' and 'stroke' in a headline or thread title or on Twitter today, I'm still shocked by it. And good on Letang for being willing to open about what he's going through medically ... that he's reaching out to others is pretty awesome.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I think most of us feel the same way about this and now that the real world has slapped us in the face with a fish, we'll tone down the Letang-bashing and hopefully in the future get a little perspective on hockey and what warrants a lot of critical energy and what doesn't. See also: when to stop short of beating dead horses, etc.

 

[Freeptop]

How do you attack a repaired heart?

"I just want to be friends."

 

[HuskerTornado]

Very scary stuff, was definitely not expecting a stroke to be the reason he was sitting out, was expecting something much more innocuous...

Hoping he is able to return to normal soon with no permanent damage done.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Not to seem . . . well jaded.

But this seems like one of those things that sounds far worse than (Thank God) it is. Because in some cases, even most cases, it is.

Like a 'broken neck'. Serious no doubt but there is a whole range from paralyzed for life from the neck down to a simple cracked vertebrae that has very little effect on your future life. (I hope that example is close, I am not medically trained).

In this case when we hear stroke we think of an older relative, and we all have had them, who either died or was permanently unable to use one side of their body, etc. It can be deadly serious.

But in this case it SOUNDS ( we have only limited information, but thus far when we have heard is promising) like Kris missed a bullet here, will have to go through a procedure, six weeks of recovery, and will be as good as new. In injury terms and future prognosis terms, both on and off the ice, not much more than a broken bone.

It seems like with some of these very very serious injuries/conditions there is a huge spectrum of effect and long term prognosis. We naturally fear the name because of the visions of the worst end of the spectrum.

I say all this in an odd way being jaded and positive at the same time.

 

[eXile59]

Why does it feel like this doesn't happen to other teams?

 

[Steve Durbano]

I didn't read the whole thread so my apologies if it's been covered, but Teddy Bruschi came back and played in the NFL after his. And I can clearly remember footage of him being led around by his hand like an old man.

From the reports, it doesn't sound like Kris' incident was as bad. Of course levels of bad are still bad.

 

[madinsomniac]

Three things... first off I really hope Letang gets well soon... Horrid to think a guy in his physical condition could even have a ministroke

Secondly I am now fully on board with the CEC being totally built on a cemetery of some type... totally cursed

thirdly this probably halts any Despres trade talks for the near future... like him or not bylsma will need him because neither Engo or Bortz brings anything near what he does to the table compared to Letang

Also, any thought of moving Nisky is absolutely dead.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Take your time and get well, Kris.

That's truly a shocker to here this morning.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Penguins are Red Sox of hockey

 

[member 51464]

Wow, Tanger. All I can say is I hope he makes a full recovery regardless of how it impacts his career or the team are impacted. Scary stuff and I hope he puts his health first.

This quote from Letang a few weeks ago just came back to me:

I'm a guy who affords a lot of respect to people when it's due. Pittsburgh is the city that gave me the chance to play in the NHL at 19 years old. The ownership takes care of us like no other. For me, it would be important to finish my career here.

The dude loves the Pens and wants to stay here for life. If he can't come back this year, I hope the boys rally to win it all for him.

 

[HuskerTornado]

Rossi (yeah, yeah) on NHL Live saying that those close to Letang believe 12 weeks is more likely, if a return happens at all this season.

 

[Lustaf]

Glad to hear this was discovered and found now before something far worse happened.

Heres' to a speedy recovery and best wishes for good health, Kris.

 

[poetryinmotion]

That's pretty worrisome, I hope he recovers swiftly.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Rossi (yeah, yeah) on NHL Live saying that those close to Letang believe 12 weeks is more likely, if a return happens at all this season.

Saw that. Being that it's Rossi I'm inclined to call BS. Who the hell knows what "sources close to Letang" means. Could mean someone that was 10 feet away from Letang when he asked the question (just like Yohe was his "source" two summers ago). I mean it won't be surprising if it's longer than 6 weeks but not prepared to jump to 12 weeks arbitrarily because Rossi said it. His lack of reliability in these situations is well known.

 

[Lustaf]

Rossi (yeah, yeah) on NHL Live saying that those close to Letang believe 12 weeks is more likely, if a return happens at all this season.

F* Rossi. He knows nothing.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

How do you attack a repaired heart?

I usually would have meaningless sex with a 20 year old and get drunk.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I usually would have meaningless sex with a 20 year old and get drunk.

Impressive if it goes down in that order.