Kris Letang Suffers Stroke

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

@DarrenDreger: Penguins announce Kris Letang suffered a stroke last week and is out at least 6 weeks. http://t.co/Vlgm9t7ad1

SO scary.

[55fan 5,133]

They're optimistic that he'll be able to continue his career with proper treatment.

So young it's scary, but it happens to young people too.

Best wishes for a full recovery.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

Yeah I've had a very minor stroke. Didn't screw me up too much.

It happens. They're more common than people think. Many go undiagnosed. Glad to here he's getting treatment.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Hopefully he's okay.

[Wingsfan72 198]

Wow that is scary. All the best to him.

[Dabura 12,232]

Scary stuff! Best wishes, of course. Hope he's able to come back at 100%, though his long-term health should be the singular, overriding priority.

[rrasco 1,312]

Wow. That's terrifying.

Further testing also revealed that Letang, 26, has had a very small hole in the wall of his heart since birth. This small defect in the wall is present in all individuals before birth but seals shut in most people. It is possible that the hole in the heart led to the stroke.

Edited February 7, 2014 by rrasco

[wings87 1,290]

Scary is putting it mildly, I wish him and his family the best and a fast recovery.

[toby91_ca 620]

Caught the news this morning as well....scary.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Further testing also revealed that Letang, 26, has had a very small hole in the wall of his heart since birth. This small defect in the wall is present in all individuals before birth but seals shut in most people. It is possible that the hole in the heart led to the stroke.

The hole is between the two atria - not a hole leading into the thorax like it sounds. It is normal in everyone to have a hole called the foramen ovale - which shunts blood past the lungs due to blood being oxygenated by the mother while in the womb - its actually quite common that this does not fully close (into a fossa ovalis) in people after birth - but it is pretty uncommon that this would not be found in a high performance athlete by now.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

This condition is actually pretty common. On average, up to 1/3 of people have that hole not fully close.

Strokes are a known side-effect unfortunately.

[SimonSin 192]

Very scary, I wish him full recovery.

[Dabura 12,232]

I had to give up hockey at a young age because of heart-related health issues. I'd always known there was something wrong with me health-wise, but it wasn't until I'd started really pushing my body to its limits that the true problem reared its very ugly head. Now that I'm older, I appreciate that it was probably a major blessing. By bringing out this issue I didn't even know I had, hockey might have saved my life in the long run. And this was before the Fischer incident and everything that's followed, all of which makes me really worry about high-level athletes. You could be in "top shape" and yet you might also be a ticking time bomb, and without even knowing. It's scary. It puts things in perspective.

Sorry, that all probably seems narcisstic. Just felt like sharing.

[LAWings 160]

Yeah I've had a very minor stroke. Didn't screw me up too much.

It happens. They're more common than people think. Many go undiagnosed. Glad to here he's getting treatment.

Could you tell us a little bit about the symptoms?

I'm not clear on what Letang went through (after googling), they only say dizziness and it wasn't major, but I thought with a stroke half your face and body stop working (according again to google). So what exactly is going on that you say, 'I'm dizzy, no, that's a stroke'.

[MabusIncarnate 5,359]

I'm not all familiar with medical stuff like this, but I didn't think a stroke at his age was even all that common. What a terrifying ordeal, I wish the best for him and his health going forward.

Could you tell us a little bit about the symptoms?

I'm not clear on what Letang went through (after googling), they only say dizziness and it wasn't major, but I thought with a stroke half your face and body stop working (according again to google). So what exactly is going on that you say, 'I'm dizzy, no, that's a stroke'.

From what I understand a stroke can lead to partial paralysis on one side of the body but this isn't always the case. You can have a stroke and still retain full function of your body afterwards.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

Could you tell us a little bit about the symptoms?

I'm not clear on what Letang went through (after googling), they only say dizziness and it wasn't major, but I thought with a stroke half your face and body stop working (according again to google). So what exactly is going on that you say, 'I'm dizzy, no, that's a stroke'.

There's varying degrees of strokes and a lot of different factors. For me, I was sitting down and it came out of no where. Dizzyness, tingle sensation, then just blackout. I woke up laying on the ground surrounded and people told me they just saw my head drop (like I had fallen a sleep) and then started shaking and fell over to the side. I guess it only lasted a few seconds but I don't remember any of it. Just the tingle/dizzy right before.

[Opie 308]

I didn't see the yahoo article in here, so here you go:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/penguins-39-letang-suffers-stroke-least-six-weeks-184407387--nhl.html

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

Dang... Good health to ya.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

All the best to him and his loved ones.

Hopefully he can enjoy a long and succesful career without anything like that again, damn scary if you think about it.

The guy really doesn't have it easy, constant headaches and now this get well soon Letang.

[thegerkin 189]

Heart problems always remind me of Fischer and how lucky we are he's still here. Get well Kris!

[rrasco 1,312]

Could you tell us a little bit about the symptoms?

I'm not clear on what Letang went through (after googling), they only say dizziness and it wasn't major, but I thought with a stroke half your face and body stop working (according again to google). So what exactly is going on that you say, 'I'm dizzy, no, that's a stroke'.

There was actually a commercial series I remember seeing in the last few years about being able to identify someone having a stroke. I don't remember if this was it, but it is similar and has a URL where you can learn more about identifying strokes.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7tHc/american-heart-association-spot-a-stroke

[Echolalia 2,961]

I literally JUST learned about strokes in my neuro class (also concussions but that's for another thread)... Exam is on Monday!

Anyway, strokes are essentially when certain parts of the brain don't get enough blood flow and those cells which are affected die. Most people generally associate strokes with losing muscle movement/sensation on half the body and/or disruption in speech, and that usually occurs when a particular artery (called the middle cerebral artery) becomes compromised. But strokes can exhibit themselves in many different ways, depending on what part of the brain is affected.

In Letang's case, having a patent foramen ovale introduces irregular blood flow mechanics and may allow a clot to form and bypass the lungs. The article mentions dizziness as one of his symptoms which is common with strokes that occur from occlusion or hemmorhage to the vertebrobasillar artery. This artery supplies the brainstem, cerebellum and visual cortex, so it would seem that the clot that formed (assuming that's even what happened) traveled to the back of the brain/brainstem where motor coordination, vision, and a few other things are regulated, and impeded blood flow to these areas. I can't speak for Letang's case specifically, but it is common to also experience double vision, difficulty swallowing, as well as disequilibrium and vertigo for vertebrobasillar artery strokes (just in case any of you experience one in the future you know now what to look for).

The article mentioned that he would be back on the ice though, so that's certainly good news. Strokes are serious business.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Echolalia

[Red Kingdom 4]

I literally JUST learned about strokes in my neuro class (also concussions but that's for another thread)... Exam is on Monday!

Anyway, strokes are essentially when certain parts of the brain don't get enough blood flow and those cells which are affected die. Most people generally associate strokes with losing muscle movement/sensation on half the body and/or disruption in speech, and that usually occurs when a particular artery (called the middle cerebral artery) becomes compromised. But strokes can exhibit themselves in many different ways, depending on what part of the brain is affected.

In Letang's case, having a patent foramen ovale introduces irregular blood flow mechanics and may allow a clot to form. The article mentions dizziness as one of his symptoms which is common with strokes that occur from occlusion or hemmorhage to the vertebrobasillar artery. This artery supplies the brainstem, cerebellum and visual cortex, so it would seem that the clot that formed (assuming that's even what happened) traveled to the back of the brain/brainstem where motor coordination, vision, and a few other things are regulated, and impeded blood flow to these areas. I can't speak for Letang's case specifically, but it is common to also experience double vision, difficulty swallowing, as well as disequilibrium and vertigo for vertebrobasillar artery strokes (just in case any of you experience one in the future you know now what to look for).

The article mentioned that he would be back on the ice though, so that's certainly good news. Strokes are serious business

Darren Dreger just spoke about this on NHL Network a few minutes ago. Dreger said Letang suffered a few of those symptoms you mentioned in your post. Dizzieness, double or blurry vision, trouble with his balance.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Red Kingdom

[Red Kingdom 4]

I had to give up hockey at a young age because of heart-related health issues. I'd always known there was something wrong with me health-wise, but it wasn't until I'd started really pushing my body to its limits that the true problem reared its very ugly head. Now that I'm older, I appreciate that it was probably a major blessing. By bringing out this issue I didn't even know I had, hockey might have saved my life in the long run. And this was before the Fischer incident and everything that's followed, all of which makes me really worry about high-level athletes. You could be in "top shape" and yet you might also be a ticking time bomb, and without even knowing. It's scary. It puts things in perspective.

Sorry, that all probably seems narcisstic. Just felt like sharing.

Dabura, if you don't mind, what type of heart condition was it? I ask because about 13 yrs ago, I was diagnosed with a heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyapathy. I had an enlarged muslce in the heart that affected the flow of blood out of the heart. A lot of much younger athletes have this and sometimes, they can go into sudden cardiac arrest and die. That's why there's a push on right now in the metro Detroit area every summer for high school athletes to have tests done to see how their hearts are. I was in my mid-50's when I was diagnosed. I had open heart surgery in 07 at 59 to correct it and so far, seven yrs later I have had no problems, though I was told that eventually I could go into congestive heart failure. So, I was just wondering if yours might be similar to mine. I know there are several forms of Cardiomyapathy, besides the one I had. And to this day, I think it was the same thing Jiri Fisher had when he nearly died during the game several yrs back.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

There was actually a commercial series I remember seeing in the last few years about being able to identify someone having a stroke. I don't remember if this was it, but it is similar and has a URL where you can learn more about identifying strokes.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7tHc/american-heart-association-spot-a-stroke

I remember this female reporter that had a stroke on air and didn't even know it a couple years ago. From her perspective, nothing was wrong and she was doing her job, but to the viewers and people associated with her, she was saying things like "heavy bertation" and speaking gibberish. It was pretty scary, I've never seen something like that before and always thought a stroke meant half of your body was unfunctional. Thankfully she's ok afaik, and thankfully it sounds like Letang will be alright and it won't be career ending.