Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey passed out on court

Not sure how alarmed to be, but Rodney Stuckey just passed out during a timeout huddle in the Piston's game at Cleveland.

Many doctors gathered around him, some cardiologists came out of the stands according to the Cavs' announcers. Stretcher rushed out. Players gathered in prayer.

Hope it turns out OK for Stuckey. They mentioned he has had recent dehydration problems.

He went into a violent seizure according to the Cavs sideline reporter. His jersey is off and being monitored electronically.

 

ESPN reports that his eyes were closed and an oxygen mask covered his mouth as Stuckey was wheeled into an ambulance. He's headed to the Cleveland Clinic. Fortunately they can get there in about five minutes.

 

Sounds like they got him stabilized rather quickly, so let's hope for the best.

 

ESPN just reported he is conscious and stable. Hopefully all will be well. Looked very scary.

 

This week is Hank Gathers' 20th anniversary of his death (I think it was yesterday, actually.) That was the first thing I thought of.

 

Another weird thing with this and the Gathers thing. After Gathers's death, Detroit trainer Mike Abdenour got into trouble when he tried testing what the response time would be to the Palace if a player collapsed. So he had a security guard call 911 to say a player had collapsed in practice. Rescue team shows up. No emergency, just Abenour timing them. I don't know if he ever got charged with anything or just a scolding. And he was on the bench tonight as he remains the team's trainer, been with the team forever.

 

Gathers had that collapse in Philadelphia and Reggie Lewis in Charlotte.

Is the cardiomyopathy something that can be addressed surgically, if this is the same issue with Stuckey?

 

I thought Gathers was at the WCC tournament out west?

Gathers is from Philadelphia........

 

ESPN radio reported this morning that Stuckey stayed overnight at The Cleveland Clinic. He was able to call his mother. All vital signs were stable. Sounds like he's in no danger right now.

I don't know if there's anyplace in the world you'd rather be for a heart problem than The Cleveland Clinic. If there's something wrong with him along those lines, they should be able to figure it out.

The Detroit Free Press reports that it was incident very similar to a dizzy spell he had last season where he had to be helped off the court at halftime:

http://www.freep.com/article/20100306/SPORTS03/3060443/1319/Stuckey-is-stable-but-kept-in-hospital-overnight

 

Surgery is not usually the treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

In HCM, part of the heart muscle grows thicker and prevents blood from being pumped out of the left ventricle to the rest of the body. Medications can be used to increase the efficiency of the heart pumping mechanism. Implantable defibrillators are often placed to treat sudden death because of the associated fatal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation.

Surgery is a secondary option if medical therapy isn't adequate. A myotomy or splitting of the heart muscle can allow for greater space for blood to flow out of the heart when it pumps.

 

Were they pretty sure he was going to be all right when they left the arena with him?

I can't imagine playing basketball under those circumstances. Or watching it.

 

I haven't heard anything about the episode being a seizure.

And yeah, Mike Abdenour has been with the team forever. His brother Tom has been the Golden State Warriors Trainer for 23 years.