Danny's heart: College swimmer faces mortality

January 4, 2009 By MARTHA IRVINE , AP National Writer Danny's heart: College swimmer faces mortality (AP)

Enlarge

Danny Thrall, 19, a sophomore on the swim team at Fordham University in New York, forms his hands in the shape of a heart over the scars from open heart surgery he had about six weeks earlier during workouts at a downtown Chicago health club Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008. A routine physical in September revealed a problem with a valve in his heart that required the surgery. Six weeks later he is back in the pool and hopes to get back to competitive form. In January, he will return to Fordham and hopes to practice with his teammates, even if he can't compete this season. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

(AP) -- This time, when the lanky young man stepped into the pool, his chest was tight. His muscles ached. He pushed off to take his first strokes, and grimaced at the pain. That he was back in the pool just six weeks after open heart surgery was quite remarkable, but he was still a bit crestfallen. He could only swim a few hundred yards.



Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

Similar stories from PHYSorg:


Surgeon 'gluing' the breastbone together after open-heart surgery

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Groin injuries may be more serious than a pulled muscle

created Jun 26, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Gap between sexes in care of common heart condition

created Apr 03, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Heart valves implanted without open-heart surgery

created Jan 07, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Preventing The Sudden Death of Young Athletes From Hidden Heart Disorders

created Aug 10, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 2 /5 (1 vote)


January 4, 2009 all stories

Comments: 0

2 /5 (1 vote)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories




  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Other News

Motor vehicle crashes more common among young drivers who engage in self-harm behaviors

Medicine & Health / Other

created 32 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Drivers who engaged in self-harm were at increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, even after controlling for psychological distress and substance abuse, found a study of 18 871 Australian drivers published in CMAJ (Canadian Me ...


First ever large-scale study of ketamine users published

Medicine & Health / Research

created 1hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The first ever large-scale, longitudinal study of ketamine users has been published online today in the journal Addiction. With Ketamine (K, Special K) use increasing faster than any other drug in the UK (British Crime ...


Elevated biomarkers lead to diminished quality of life in heart attack patients post-discharge

Medicine & Health / Research

created 52 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Many heart attack patients have high levels of cardiac biomarkers in the blood for several months after leaving the hospital, with more shortness of breath and chest pain, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.


Recovering with 4-legged friends requires less pain medication

Medicine & Health / Other

created 11 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Adults who use pet therapy while recovering from total joint-replacement surgery require 50 percent less pain medication than those who do not. These findings were presented at the 18th Annual Conference of the International ...


Continuous chest compression-CPR improved cardiac arrest survival in Arizona

Medicine & Health / Other

created 52 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside a hospital was found to be twice as high when bystanders performed continuous chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing than when bystanders performed standard CPR. ...