Eriksen to be fitted with heart-starting device after cardiac arrest
Christian Eriksen will be fitted with a heart-starting device known as an ICD - implantable cardioverter defibrillator - after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland last Saturday.
"After Christian has been through different heart examinations it has been decided that he should have an ICD. This device is necessary after cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances," said Danish team doctor Morten Boesen, according to PA Media.
"Christian has accepted the solution and the plan has moreover been confirmed by specialists nationally and internationally who all recommend the same treatment. We encourage everybody to give Christian and his family peace and privacy."
The American Heart Association describes an ICD as "a battery-powered device placed under the skin that keeps track of your heart rate. Thin wires connect the ICD to your heart. If an abnormal heart rhythm is detected the device will deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat if your heart is beating chaotically and much too fast."
Boesen revealed last week that Eriksen "was gone" after collapsing shortly before halftime in Copenhagen. The Inter Milan midfielder was revived after one pulse from a defibrillator, which is "quite quick," the doctor added.
Jens Kleinfeld, an emergency doctor who also treated Eriksen on the pitch, described the midfielder regaining consciousness to German tabloid Bild on Thursday.
"He opened his eyes and spoke to me. I asked him, in English, 'Are you back again?' He said, 'Yes, I am here.' And then he said, 'Oh shit, I've only just turned 29 years old,'" Kleinfeld said, according to The Guardian's Kate Connolly.
"I told him that everything was now OK and he was not in danger anymore. He understood everything immediately and straight away put his arm on his chest."
Kleinfeld said the Danish medical team was initially struggling to cope with the situation. "The team doctors are mainly treating many other injuries, which is why it's more difficult for them to immediately recognize sudden cardiac death," he explained.
"It was a lovely moment when Eriksen opened his eyes again," Kleinfeld added.