June 18 – Christian Eriksen is being fitted with a heart starter device following his collapse due to a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener which shocked the world of football.
Eriksen’s life was saved when CPR was administered to him on the pitch and his heart was re-started with a defibrillator before he was rushed to hospital, where he is recovering. He will now receive an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), a small electronic device which can prevent fatal cardiac arrests.
“After Christian has been through different heart examinations it has been decided that he should have an ICD,” Danish team doctor Morten Boesen said. “This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances. Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment.”
Netherlands defender Daley Blind still plays professionally with an ICD that was fitted after he was diagnosed with an inflamed heart muscle in 2019.
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer dedicated his side’s 2-1 defeat to Belgium on Thursday to Eriksen, saying football had taken a backseat for the team in the past few days. The game featured a minute’s applause for Eriksen just after the clock hit 10 minutes in honour of his No. 10 national team shirt.
“The only thing that is important and really matters, is that Christian is okay,” Kjaer said.
UEFA sent a video Thursday to the Danish federation featuring messages of support for the Inter Milan midfielder from the other 23 teams at the tournament, as well as the governing body’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, and the referees.
Ceferin said the incident “made us all realize how fragile our lives are.”
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