Jim Reed is a health reporter.

Media caption, Christian Eriksen says it is a miracle he is back playing football for Brentford

After collapsing on the pitch at the European Championship, Christian Eriksen will return to the English top flight on Saturday. The 30-year-old will be the first top-flight player fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter defibrillator, which can reset the heart after a cardiac arrest.

I was gone from this world for five minutes.

One of the world's best players collapsed in the opening game of the Euros last summer.

The AED was used to reset his heart after he was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

At the time, it was thought that his career could be over.

After having an ICD fitted, he will make his debut for his new club, and is targeting a return to international football at the World Cup finals later this year.

A cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack in that it occurs when blood stops flowing around the body as it should.

It can happen when the electrical impulses that regulate heartbeats don't function properly, or when the walls to the heart become damaged.

The underlying cause in young people can be either genetic or acquired, for example, after an allergic reaction to a medication. Cardiac arrest can be a one-off and never properly identified.

Young professional athletes are prone to heart problems.

They are high-profile cases.

According to Cardiac Risk in the Young, a sudden cardiac arrest kills 12 people a week under the age of 35 in the UK.

80% of deaths in young people occur with no previous symptoms, according to the charity's chief executive. Outside of sport, the majority of cardiac arrests happen when people are asleep or at rest.

There was no history of a heart condition like this in his family and he was tested regularly throughout his career.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator or ICD is normally fitted beneath the skin or the muscle in the chest

A few days after he collapsed, he was fitted with an ICD, a device that is half the size of a mobile phone and leads to the area around his heart.

There are two types of ICD.

A mini defibrilator is fitted under the skin and acts like a mini defibrilator.

Dr Michael Papadakis is a reader in cardiology at the University of London.

If the heart is beating too slowly, the other main type of ICD can send an electrical signal to the brain, similar to a pacemaker.

The batteries can be replaced under local anesthesia.

Doctors used to advise people with an ICD not to attempt anything more strenuous than a game of golf.

That has changed because of new research.

A team from Yale University followed athletes competing with ICDs for four years, checking in every six months to see if they had experienced any adverse events.

About 10% of people received a shock from their device while playing a sport. There were no cases of the ICD failing or athletes dying as a result of sports-related cardiac events in the study.

Prof Rachel Lampert, who led the study, says that the risk is low.

Image caption, 71-year-old Bill Kerr has completed 12 marathons since collapsing after a cardiac arrest in 2012

In 2012 Bill Kerr, a keen amateur runner from Market Harborough, collapsed suddenly while at work and needed to have an ICD fitted.

Since his cardiac arrest, the 71-year-old has completed 12 marathons, the fastest in four hours and 15 minutes, but 20 minutes slower than before.

Being fit saved my neck and the worst thing would be to become sedentary according to my heart consultant. He said that he began to trust the device after working his way up.

After a few months, you are not aware of it, but it becomes part of you.

Much depends on the damage done to the heart before the problem is identified.

Muamba decided to retire on advice from his doctors, but others have continued to play with an ICD, including Blind for the Netherlands national side and his club.

Different countries have different rules.

The Italian Football Association banned anyone from playing at amateur or professional level with the device fitted, which forced him to leave his previous club, Inter Milan.

Image source, EPA/Stuart Franklin/POOL
Image caption, Christian Eriksen in action against Finland on 12 June 2021, the day of his cardiac arrest

The England and Wales Cricket Board and other sporting bodies have been running a heart screening programme for many years.

An electrocardiogram is used to check the heart's rhythm and electrical activity, while an echocardiogram can look at the structure of the heart to see if there are any defects.

When a player signs their first professional contract, they are tested again at the age of 18 and 20.

A study led by a team at St George's, University of London, found that one in every 260 adolescent players was found to have a condition which could put them in danger of sudden death. People can often be treated or given lifestyle advice to try to reduce their risk.

It cannot detect all cases or prevent all sudden cardiac deaths, just like breast cancer screening, said Dr Papadakis.

Photo of a defibrillatorDefibrillators in the UK
  • There are 100,000 defibrillators in the UK.

  • 60,000 cardiac arrests a year.

  • 10% is the overall survival rate.

  • If it is used quickly.

Source: BHF/Nice/firstaidforlife.org.uk

The same device that helped revive Christian Eriksen when he collapsed on the pitch in Copenhagen has been made available to grassroots football clubs in England and Wales.

The footballer hopes that rising awareness and extra funding will prevent other young players from going through the same traumatic experience in the future.

He said it was a good thing from a bad thing that happened. It is turning into something positive that will save a lot of people like me.

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