Arizona Cardinals defensive end JJ Watt played in Sunday’s NFL victory against the Carolina Panthers despite suffering a heart scare this week.
Watt revealed that he went into atrial fibrillation – an irregular, often rapid heart arrhythmia – on Wednesday.
“I had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I’m playing today. That’s it,” said the three-time NFL defensive player of the year.
Watt played 41 snaps and made three tackles as the Cardinals won 26-16.
The 33-year-old discussed the issue after Sunday’s game, saying he had been given medical assurances that he would be able to play as usual despite the procedure.
“On Wednesday, my heart was beating weird, got it checked out, got A-fibbed so they can shock it back to rhythm,” Watt said.
“I was assured multiple times from multiple people that there’s nothing else you can do, and I can go back and play like normal. Said it can happen again the next day, or it could happen never again the next 20 years.
“So I was assured multiple times, so I went back to practice Friday, practised, and here we are.”
In his earlier tweet, Watt said he had only publicly disclosed the issue because he believed information about his condition had been leaked.
Atrial fibrillation is the shortened name for atrial fibrillation – a disease of the heart’s chambers often characterised by a faster heartbeat.
