LaMarcus Aldridge, the second All-Star in a two-pronged Spurs attack with Kawhi Leonard, will be out indefinitely due to a minor heart arrhythmia, the team announced Saturday.
LaMarcus Aldridge sidelined indefinitely due to irregular heartbeat
Aldridge has a “minor heart arrhythmia.” It’s not the first heart scare he’s had in his career.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
“All parties have concluded at the current time it is best for Aldridge to refrain from play until further tests,” the Spurs said in a statement.
A heart arrhythmia occurs when the electric waves that control a person’s heartbeat falter, causing the heart to speed up, slow down, or beat irregularly. It is unclear how serious Aldridge’s arrhythmia is and what sort of treatment will be needed.
Aldridge is averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. Both are his lowest marks since his rookie year.
This is not the first time Aldridge has been sidelined due to irregular heartbeats
In 2007, Aldridge’s rookie year was cut short after he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which happens when the electrical signals that control one’s heartbeat arrive too soon through a channel that shouldn’t exist. That causes the heart ventricles to contract prematurely. Aldridge underwent a procedure to fix the problem and missed the final nine games of the season.
Four years later, Aldridge had to undergo the same procedure again after a preseason heart scan revealed an abnormality. He missed most of the Blazers’ abbreviated training camp due to the lockout, but he returned by the start of the season.
In a 2015 video for American Express, Aldridge described how he was born with a heart condition and had many scares as a child:
“As a kid, I would get these little flutters. My heart would just start racing,” he said in the ad. “Actually, I died at birth. My mom told me that when I came out of the womb, I wasn’t breathing. They kept pulling on my chest. I wasn’t alive. And then I fought back.”
See More:
