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Jim Harbaugh’s Atrial Flutter Incident During Chargers-Broncos Game

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh experienced a health scare during a recent game against the Denver Broncos, as he encountered a flare-up of atrial flutter, a type of heart arrhythmia characterized by an irregularly fast heartbeat.

Prior to the game, Harbaugh, age 60, was seen entering the medical tent shortly before kickoff. Minutes later, he was escorted to the locker room by members of the team’s medical staff. Despite this, he returned to the sidelines in the first quarter and continued coaching throughout the game.

In a post-game interview after the Chargers secured a 23-16 victory, Harbaugh revealed that he started to feel symptoms the night before the game. During warmups, he recognized abnormal heartbeats and decided to consult the medical staff in the tent for an evaluation.

“Everything turned out to be OK,” Harbaugh stated. “I deal with this, I guess minor… it’s called atrial flutter, and I got into an episode today. Doctors checked me out, and it got back into sinus rhythm, so I came back.” He noted that he received IV treatment along with an EKG from paramedics, who cleared him to rejoin the game.

Harbaugh mentioned he was familiar with the sensation, having experienced it before during his tenure as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, when similar arrhythmia occurred during a Monday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears.

He humorously commented on the incident, remarking he’s now “2-0 with arrhythmias” after both instances resulted in victories for his teams. Reflecting on his health history, he disclosed that he underwent an ablation following the 2012 episode due to his heart not returning to normal rhythm. He also had a similar procedure in 1999 while playing for the Chargers, suggesting he had anticipated another potential episode based on past occurrences.

“I figured I was getting to the 13-year mark and I was going to need another [ablation] at some point,” Harbaugh remarked.

Following the incident, Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz contacted Harbaugh’s brother, John Harbaugh, who coaches the Baltimore Ravens, to inform him about the situation. Interestingly, this call occurred during John’s postgame press conference, prompting him to update their parents about Jim’s health episode.

Most players from the Chargers were largely unaware of Harbaugh’s situation until it was brought up in post-game discussions. Quarterback Justin Herbert expressed surprise, stating, “He’s tough. He did a really good job of hiding that then because I was unaware of it. They did a good job of keeping calm. I hope he’s okay.”

Source
people.com